Mongolia and South Korea Emphasize Deeper Economic Ties  – The Diplomat

Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai paid a four-day working go to to South Korea from February 14-18. Since establishing a strategic partnerships in 2021, Ulaanbaatar and Seoul have made efforts to bolster financial relations, notably in mineral extraction, tourism, and concrete improvement.

On February 15, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo obtained the Mongolian delegation led by Oyun-Erdene. The Mongolian prime minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Financial system and Improvement Khurelbaatar Chimid, International Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, Minister of Building and City Improvement Davaasuren Tserenpil, Minister of Tradition Nomin Chinat, and others.

Oyun-Erdene’s go to to Seoul marked the primary time in 12 years {that a} Mongolian prime minister had visited South Korea. Through the conferences of the heads of presidency, Han highlighted the importance of Mongolia-South Korea bilateral relations inside Seoul’s Indo-Pacific Technique.

For his half, Oyun-Erdene emphasised the significance of South Korea as each a buying and selling associate and a gateway by way of which landlocked Mongolia might ship its items farther overseas. “We see South Korea as one among our prospects, and the newly signed settlement between our two nations will assist Mongolia commerce globally by way of seaports comparable to Busan,” he advised Reuters.

These high-level bilateral conferences are supposed to activate Mongolia-South Korea financial actions, enhance investments, and deepen cultural ties.

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South Korea is one among Mongolia’s closest “third neighbors” within the area. Commerce, tourism, cultural exchanges, and academic cooperation with South Korea all intersect with and have a direct affect on Mongolian society.

The Mongolian delegation’s agenda in Seoul largely circled round Mongolia’s long-term improvement plan, Imaginative and prescient 2050, and the Oyun-Erdene administration’s post-COVID-19 New Revival Coverage. Mongolia and South Korea signed six new Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with a number of new parts that can enrich their strategic partnership.

In keeping with the workplace of the Mongolian prime minister, Mongolia and South Korea have agreed to  begin negotiations on an financial partnership settlement between the 2 nations. Additionally they agreed to cooperate within the provide chain of uncommon metals; cooperate on mitigating local weather change; increase their militaries’ data sharing and functionality enhancement; help cultural actions, applications, and content material creation; and lastly, cooperate in city planning and improvement initiatives.

In 2021, throughout a web-based summit between Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and the then-president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, the 2 leaders agreed to advance cooperation in mineral extraction, which might be utilized to help South Korea’s high-tech business. Mongolia’s wealthy pure sources, comparable to copper, tin, nickel, and molybdenum have the potential to be exported to South Korea and past.

On a broader scale, such cooperation can help South Korea’s provide chain points, whereas Mongolia can acquire an export outlet to the remainder of the world utilizing the Busan seaport. “I imagine Busan might function a sea gate for Mongolia,” Oyun-Erdene advised the Korea Herald.

“Plans are underneath assessment to create a analysis crew to proceed our cooperation with Busan as a sea transit open for Mongolia.”

Along with increasing Mongolia-South Korea’s cooperation in mineral extraction, Oyun-Erdene invited South Korean buyers to participate in city planning and improvement of a brand new satellite tv for pc metropolis on the outskirts of the newly constructed worldwide airport within the Khoshig Valley. In keeping with a December 2022 Technical Help Report from the Asian Improvement Financial institution, “The proposed satellite tv for pc metropolis goals to draw residents, public providers, and financial actions at present overconcentrated in Ulaanbaatar, the capital metropolis of Mongolia.”

The Asian Improvement Financial institution (ADB) estimated the whole value of the venture to be $200 million, of which the ADB would supply $100 million and the Mongolian authorities would supply $50 million. The remaining $50 million is predicted to return from “cofinancing [loans and/or grants] from improvement companions” – presumably together with South Korea – for a complete of $45 million and “at the least $5 million” in funds “mobilized from the personal sector and capital market.”

The concept behind creating satellite tv for pc cities and cities is to alleviate Ulaanbaatar’s overpopulation. As well as, if these newly established communities and concrete initiatives undertake inexperienced initiatives and environmentally pleasant options, this may very well be an additional advantage for Mongolia, offering a chance to draw funding in renewable power.

From Mongolia’s overseas coverage and financial perspective, sturdy financial ties with South Korea, notably in Mongolia’s conventional power of exporting pure sources, can help Ulaanbaatar to ascertain a number of financial corridors. Every hall will function an integral a part of the nationwide economic system.

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Whereas mineral commerce and concrete improvement are included within the current MOUs, newer initiatives comparable to content material creation, tradition, and schooling can even have a optimistic affect on Mongolia’s non-mining sectors. Mongolia additionally supported South Korea’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan, which has been a key objective for each the earlier Moon and present Yoon administrations.