On February 8, Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Battsetseg received Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia Kobayashi Hiroyuki. At the beginning of the meeting, the Ambassador congratulated Minister B. Battsetseg on her appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs and wished success in her endeavors.

Minister B.Battsetseg expressed her gratitude for the congratulatory letter received from Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and noted that the Japanese Foreign Minister T.Motegi’s visit was of special importance in strengthening the Mongolia-Japan Strategic Partnership.

The Ambassador stressed the importance of close cooperation between the two countries to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed satisfaction with the two countries’ ever-continuing close cooperation in this difficult situation, proving that they are strategic partners.

The Minister thanked the Government of Japan for its valuable supports and assistance to Mongolia in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly, she emphasized that the Japanese Government’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Loan and the non-project grant aid for supporting economic and social development were timely.

The parties concurred to settle a medium-term program for the development of Mongolian-Japanese relations for the next four years and to ensure early preparations for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. They also discussed ways of collaboration for restoring economic and business cooperation when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.