PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES MR. YASUO ICHIKAWA

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ The Premier S.Batbold met on Wednesday Mr. Yasuo Ichikawa, the Defense Minister of Japan, and congratulated him on being this year's first guest from Japan in frames of the 40th anniversary of the Mongolia-Japan diplomatic relations. The Premier underlined that the bilateral cooperation in the defense sector has been developing, adding signing of a cooperation memorandum between the Defense Ministries will contribute to bringing of the cooperation into a new level. He expressed satisfaction with the active cooperation in the defense sphere such as training the Mongolian military officers and cadets in the Japanese Defense Academy and having Mongolian delegates attend the seminar on Asia-Pacific security annually organized in Japan. He is glad that Japan sends its observers to the "Khaan Quest" international military exercise, he added. In turn, Mr. Ichikawa thanked the Premier for the audience, and noted that the cooperation memorandum between the Defense Ministers will indeed bring the sector's cooperation into a new step. He expressed a gratitude to the Mongolian side for active participation in the international peacekeeping operations. The Premier said Mongolia wants to actively cooperate with Japan in ensuring the security and stability in Asia-Pacific region.