BANGKOK DECLARATION ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION ADOPTED

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs D.Gankhuyag represented Mongolia at the Ministerial Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on December 17-20. The Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation, organized by the UN Economic and Social Council for Asia Pacific, adopted the Bangkok Declaration on Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia and the Pacific on December 20. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, at its 68th session in May of 2012, emphasized that the Asia and the Pacific region’s dynamism, crucial for the elimination of poverty and for the inclusive and sustainable development of the region, will critically depend on its ability to harness the potential of regional economic cooperation and integration. The declaration called for cooperation in four thematic areas of integrated markets, connectivity, regional financial cooperation and cooperation to address shared vulnerabilities and risks. In preparation for the Ministerial Conference, two consultation meetings are organized for preliminary discussions on the related issues. The meetings were attended by specialists of related ministries of Mongolia who could reflect Mongolia’s position in the draft. The second ministerial is scheduled in December of 2015. During the measure, Mr Gankhuyag had a meeting with the head of the Marshall Islands’ delegation, Tom Kijiner to discuss a potential establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Marshall Islands. Gratefully accepting Mongolia’s proposal, Mr Kijiner said the Marshall Islands are striving to establish diplomatic ties between the countries in near time.