MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MEETS U.S OFFICIALS

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ On September 28, the Foreign Minister L.Bold received Mr. Andrew J. Shapiro, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, and shared views on the Mongolia-US defense and political cooperation. L.Bold noted that military assistance, rendered from the U.S side, is being exploited for developing the Armed Forces, especially for preparing the trained staffers for the UN peacekeeping operations, and underlined that the assistance has significantly contributed to providing Mongolia's Second-phase hospital participating in the UNAMID operations with the latest medical facilities. The same day, Mr Bold met Mr Warren Sach, a UN Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services and as Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments; and with Mr H.Ladsous, a UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. Mr. Sach supported a willingness of the Foreign Minister to supply some kinds of Mongolian products and services to the UN, and said an information is to be given to Mongolia about the UN's market of products and services, and a related training may be run on supporting Mongolia's competitiveness at this market. Then, the two sides agreed to hold this training with participation of the private sector and the state representative. The Foreign Minister and Mr Ladsous discussed issues of Mongolia's participation in the UN peacekeeping operations. As of present, Mongolia has its peacekeepers and observers in South Sudan, Congo, West Sahara, Afghanistan and Darfur. B.Khuder