Samar Rathi
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At the invitation of his excellency Chimediin Saikhanbileg, Prime Minister of Mongolia, his excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, paid a state visit to Mongolia from May 16 to May 18, 2015.
Prime Minister Modi held bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Ch Saikhanbileg. President Ts Elbegdorj, hosted a luncheon for Prime Minister Modi. During his meeting with speaker Z Enkhbold, Prime Minister Modi expressed his deep appreciation for according him the privilege to address the State Great Hural of Mongolia.
A new chapter
The two Prime Ministers underscored the significance of the visit in the backdrop of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and India. It is the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister marking the dawn of a new era in Mongolia-India relations.
They further noted with satisfaction the continued development of bilateral relations in the framework of a comprehensive partnership based on deep civilizational, historical, spiritual and cultural linkages, common democratic traditions and shared desire for regional as well as international peace and stability.
Given the shared desire to remain trusted partners, the two Prime Ministers pledged to further consolidate India-Mongolia comprehensive partnership, and agreed to elevate the level of the comprehensive partnership to a Strategic Partnership that is conducive to the common cause of the international community for peace and prosperity, and aligned with the collective interests of our two countries and our peoples.
Future directions and objectives
The two Prime Ministers confirmed that developing a Strategic Partnership, which is guided by the universally recognized principles of sovereign equality of states, the principles of the United Nations Charter, collective interests of our peoples and the fundamental ideals of the Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation between Republic of India and Mongolia, signed on February 22, 1994, and other bilateral documents, would be their common yet a new objective of their respective foreign policies. In line with this policy the two sides reached the following understanding:
Political and security partnership
(1) The two Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the increased high-level exchanges between the two countries in recent years and how these exchanges have significantly reinforced the momentum for cooperation between the two countries.
The two Prime Ministers acknowledged the importance to maintain the frequency of reciprocal visits, and agreed to further promote the exchanges of visits at all levels, namely between the government leaders, ministers, parliamentarians and senior officials and regular political dialogue on the sidelines of multilateral events.
(2) The two Prime Ministers agreed to further encourage institutional linkages, including parliamentary as well as governmental interactions, to hold regular dialogue on bilateral relations, other regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern through existing mechanisms such as the joint committee on cooperation between the government of the Republic of India and the government of Mongolia, policy consultations between the two foreign ministries and all other channels of communication.
The next meeting of the joint committee on cooperation will be held in Ulaan Baatar in 2015 at a mutually convenient time.
(3) India and Mongolia support the evolution of open, balanced and inclusive security architecture in the Asia Pacific region based on collective efforts, considering legitimate interests of all states of the region guided by respect for norms and principles of international law. The two Prime Ministers reiterated their readiness to strengthen regional as well as multilateral cooperation, including through enhanced interaction in the UN and other regional and international organizations.
(4) The two Prime Ministers stressed the urgent need for reform of United Nations security council by expanding in both permanent and non-permanent categories to reflect contemporary realities and make it more representative and effective in dealing with emerging challenges. They underscored that the year 2015, being 70th anniversary year of the United Nations, provided a historic opportunity to push for concrete outcomes on the unanimous call for "early reforms" of UNSC made collectively by all heads of states and governments in 2005.
The government of Mongolia reiterated its support to India's candidature for permanent membership of the UNSC when the expansion takes place. The government of India expressed its appreciation to the government of Mongolia for its expression of support. India and Mongolia have also agreed to offer reciprocal support for their bids for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for the terms 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 respectively.
The government of India also confirmed its support to Mongolia's candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council for the terms 2016-2018.
(5) Both Prime Ministers noted that the nature and spread of international terrorism in recent years poses a threat to all humanity and requires global resolve and cooperative measures of the international community without double standards or selectivity. They agreed to direct concerned officials to work together for the adoption of the comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The Prime Ministers expressed hope that all safe havens and sanctuaries for terrorists will be wiped out without delay.
(6) The two Prime Ministers recognized their shared interests in security of cyber domain, and decided to work with each other to preserve the integrity and inviolability of this global common.
Defence & security cooperation
(7) The two Prime Ministers agreed to continue to work towards further intensifying bilateral defense and security cooperation through exchanges of high and mid-level visits, regular consultations and dialogue between the ministries of defense and other relevant organizations, including the national security councils, military personnel exchanges, capacity building, technical cooperation, specialized vocational training, joint exercises in Special Forces and information security, collaboration in UN as well as to other international peacekeeping operations.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the cooperation between the border security guards of both the countries. Mutual sharing of the experiences between Mongolian and Indian border forces will further strengthen the bilateral defence and security cooperation.
Mongolia and India have been cooperating with each other in the area of cyber security domain. Mongolian Prime Minister expressed his appreciation to India's support to set up a cyber security centre in Mongolia. Economic Cooperation
(8) The two Prime Ministers agreed to encourage development of equal and mutually beneficial trade, investment and economic cooperation, which is balanced, sustainable, and leads to prosperity in both countries.
(9) India will continue to support Mongolia's endeavor to create a business friendly foreign investment regime.
(10) The two Prime Ministers agreed to encourage Indian companies to further explore cooperation opportunities in Mongolia's mining sector through joint ventures and investment.
(11)Recalling the Memorandum of understanding signed in 2009 between the department of atomic energy of India and the nuclear energy agency of Mongolia for cooperation in the field of peaceful use of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy, the two Prime Ministers noted the intensified cooperation in civil nuclear domain, such as societal and industrial applications of radioisotopes, exploration and mining of radioactive minerals in Mongolia, and human resource development.
(12) Prime Minister of India welcomed Mongolia to partner in India's economic transformation and noted that Mongolia's rich mineral deposits, including radioactive minerals, could help power India's low-carbon growth, while helping Mongolia in developing indigenous capabilities and economic opportunities in the mining sector. The two Prime Ministers asked the joint working group established between their atomic energy establishments to explore opportunities for future collaborative actions in the spirit of mutual benefit.
(13) Given the immense potential to collaborate in the agriculture sector, the two Prime Ministers encouraged fostering deeper and closer cooperation in animal husbandry, production of dairy products, sharing of expertise and know-how, technology transfer and other forms of cooperation.
Health sector cooperation
(14) The two Prime Ministers noted the potential and their common desire to strengthen cooperation in the health sector and that future cooperation would serve their collective interest and contribute to the social development of the people of both countries.
The Mongolian Prime Minister thanked India for its support for the development of peaceful use of nuclear energy in Mongolia, and appreciated the gesture of providing Bhabhatron-II tele-therapy unit and a Radiotherapy Simulator, designed, developed and manufactured in India to the National Cancer Center of Mongolia.
Scientific, cultural and people to people contacts
(15) The two Prime Ministers agreed to promote continued cooperation in the scientific, educational and IT sectors by developing mechanisms for capacity building, collaborative research, technical cooperation, exchange of information and experience sharing.
(16) The two Prime Ministers acknowledged that the richness of the relationship between Mongolia and India is a result of the long-standing people to people contacts, and shared the view to further promote greater awareness and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, through enhancing education and cultural cooperation, better utilization of current scholarships under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship program with a viewpoint of increasing the number of student scholarships in the future.
(17) The two Prime Ministers agreed to offer up to 5 scholarships each year to the students upon the request of the other Party for learning Mongolian and Hindi languages, Mongolian and Indian culture in their academic institutions.
(18)The two Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the decision to set up Mongolia-India Joint School in Ulaan Baatar. They also welcomed the selection of a project management consultant for the utilization of $20 million line of credit to expand the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre for Excellence in Information Technology and Communication in Ulaan Baatar to include an outsourcing centre. The expanded centre will be renamed as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre for Excellence in Information Technology & Communication and Outsourcing.
(19) The two Prime Ministers agreed to look into a possibility to ease travel between the two countries by exploring direct air links between Mongolia and India to facilitate greater people to people interactions as well as ways to simplify the existing visa conditions. Mongolian side conveyed its appreciation for India's decision to extend e-tourist visa (eTV) facility to its nationals.
(20) In order to highlight each other's cultural and spiritual heritage, both Prime Ministers agreed to encourage exchanges of films, electronic and print media, performing and fine arts, museums and other related areas of cultural expression and to support mutual establishing of cultural centers.
(21) The two Prime Ministers noted the shared ancient cultural, spiritual and civilizational ties and enduring goodwill between their people. The Mongolian side appreciated the gesture of India, to present a sapling of the sacred Bodhi tree. India agreed to positively consider the request of Mongolia for providing Buddha statue to the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery, as a symbol of an enduring tradition of spiritual bonding between the peoples of the two countries.
(22) To rediscover the shared cultural heritage, both Prime Ministers agreed to initiate a joint translation project of "Holy Tripitaka" into Mongolian language.
Laying down frameworks for future cooperation
The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of the following bilateral documents:
1. Air services agreement between the government of the Republic of India and the government of Mongolia
2. Treaty between the government of the Republic of India and the government of Mongolia on the transfer of sentenced persons
3. Agreement between the government of the Republic of India government of Mongolia on cooperation in the field of animal health and dairy
4. Memorandum of understanding between the government of the Republic of India and the government of Mongolia on cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy
5. Memorandum of understanding between the government of Republic of India and the government of Mongolia and on establishment of cyber security training centre in the ministry of defence of mongolia
6. Memorandum of understanding between the government of Republic of India and the government of Mongolia on establishment of India-Mongolia joint friendship school in Mongolia
7. Programme on cooperation between the government of the Republic of India and the government of Mongolia in the field of culture for the years 2015-2018
8. Memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the national security council of the Republic of India and the National Security Council of Mongolia
9.Memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the ministry of external affairs of the Republic of India and the ministry of foreign affairs of Mongolia
10. Memorandum of understanding between the ministry of new and renewable energy of the Republic of India and the ministry of energy of Mongolia
11. Memorandum of understanding between the ministry of home affairs of the Republic of India and the ministry of justice of Mongolia for enhancing co-operation in border guarding, policing and surveillance
12. Memorandum of understanding between the Tata Memorial Centre of India and the National Cancer Center of Mongolia for gifting of Bhabhatron-II tele-therapy unit along with a radiotherapy simulator
13. Memorandum of understanding between the foreign service institute of the ministry of external affairs of the Republic of India and the diplomatic academy of the ministry of foreign affairs of Mongolia
Looking forward
The two Prime Ministers agreed to take the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2015 to organize joint cultural activities in their respective countries.
The two Prime Ministers agreed to work closely on issues discussed and agreed on during the official talks between Prime Minister Modi and Mongolian leadership through existing bilateral mechanisms and all other means of interaction to ensure concrete outcomes of bilateral cooperation in the years to come.
The State Visit of the Prime Minister of India has consolidated the longstanding, cordial and cooperative ties between Mongolia and India, and contributed greatly to further developing the newly established bilateral partnership.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...trategic-partnership/articleshow/47315412.cms
