PRIME MINISTER U.KHURELSUKH VISITS INNER MONGOLIA

Bayannur/MONTSAME/ Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh arrived in Bayannur city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China on April 12 as a continuation of his official visit to China. Bayannur borders to Mongolia’s Gashuunsukhait to the north. In Bayannur city, Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh held a meeting with Li Jiheng, Communist Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia, and discussed about pressing issues in Mongolia-Inner Mongolia cooperation, especially expanding the capacity of Gantsmod (Ganqimaodu)-Gashuunsukhait border checkpoints, a main gateway of mining products’ export between the two countries. Last year, Mongolia exported 18 million tons of goods through Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod checkpoints, of which 17 million tons were coal. The sides had the same opinion on a necessity to develop infrastructures of the border checkpoints and improving the carrying capacity. Li Jiheng proposed to establish a pilot cross-border mining and energy zone. He also requested to establish a free economic zone in Zamyn-Uud-Erlian within a short time, develop tourism and take part in ger area re-planning of Ulaanbaatar city. In turn, the PM said that a regular consultative meeting of the standing committee between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the People’s Government of Inner Mongolia will be organized in Ulaanbaatar and stressed that the sides make efforts to improve outcomes of the meeting. “It necessitates developing infrastructures of the border checkpoints, improving the carrying capacity of the border checkpoints. Long queues of coal transportation are often formed at Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod checkpoint, causing certain problems in bilateral trades. Thus, I decided to get specifically familiarized with conditions of Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod checkpoints within a scope of the visit. Traffic jams in the checkpoint and declines in trade turnover negatively affect the strategic partnership relations between two countries in some way,” stressed the PM. “During the recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the President expressed a commitment to increase China’s import volume from Mongolia and receive greater than 30 million tons of coal per year. The two sides need to make joint efforts to achieve the objective. We are grateful to measures being taken by the People’s Government of Inner Mongolia and Bayannur city administration on improving the capacity of the checkpoint. However, the sides need to discuss together about pressing issues in the checkpoints and take immediate measures,” added the PM U.Khurelsukh. Following the meeting, they witnessed a ceremony of signing the Memorandum of Cooperation between Umnugobi aimag of Mongolia and Bayannur city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. M.Unurzul