D.ERDENEBAT MP MEETS JAPAN’S VICE FM

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ High-level meetings in the last year between Japan and Mongolia were successful, and Japan wants to widen the bilateral relations, said a visiting Japan’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Seiji Kihara Thursday. He asked Mr D.Erdenebat MP, a head of the Mongolia-Japan inter-parliamentary group, to back this expanding of the ties. In response, Mr Erdenebat underlined that the last year's visit to Japan of the Mongolian Premier contributed to brining the relations into a newer level, and said Mongolian MPs are expected to visit Japan this year. He also noted that Mongolian parliament passed new laws--on investments, on investments fund, as well as a document on the state policy on mineral sector. Parliament will discuss and adopt a bill on economic free-zone, he added. Mr Kihara said has been appointed the chair of a working group in charge of establishing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries, and emphasized an importance of roles of Mongolia’s state and private sector and of collaboration between parliamentarians in developing the mutually-beneficial economic cooperation. He said Japan is ready to cooperate with Mongolia in the economic free-zone matters. Mr Erdenebat congratulated the Deputy FM on being appointed the working group’s head and thanked him for visiting Mongolia. He hoped that the two countries will successfully collaborate in establishing the EPA.