PREMIER MEETS STATE REPS AT BALI DEMOCRATIC FORUM

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ The Prime Minister S.Batbold has held meetings with state leaders of countries during the Bali Democratic Forum (BDF) held on December 8-9 in Indonesia. The Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah has promised to implement a scholarship program for Mongolian students. Then the sides have raised an issue of developing the Mongolia-Brunei ties in the trade, investment and educational spheres. The Premier has thanked the Brunei Sultan for a decision to realize the scholarship program and asked to to train the students in mining and oil professions. Then, Mongolia's Premier S.Batbold and his counterpart of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Muhammad Al Thani have met to share views on cooperating in the fields of energy, oil and natural gas, preparing professionals, expanding the collaboration in finance and investments and in defense, peacekeeping operations. The Qatari Prime Minister has expressed a readiness to cooperate with Mongolia in these sectors and said he wants to invest the Mongolian mining, infrastructure and agricultural sectors. The Qatari Premier has thankfully received an invitation to visit Mongolia, and promised to do it in near future. A special envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan Katsuya Okada has met with the S.Batbold PMt. Mr. Katsuya has confirmed that the Premier has been invited to Japan with a visit in frames of the 40th anniversary of the Mongolia-Japan diplomatic relations. He has expressed hope that this visit would enrich the bilateral strategic partnership relations with real contents. Expressing an agreement with Mr. Katsuya, the Mongolian Premier expressed a confidence that achievements will be gained in the nearest future in cooperating in the biggest projects on mining and in establishing an agreement on economic partnership. Within the BDF, S.Batbold also has met with Mr. Jeremy Browne, the UK Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and with Jonathan Coleman, the New Zealand Minister of Immigration to exchange views on the bilateral relations and cooperation. B.Khuder