This is the first time that President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh paid an official state-level visit to Vietnam since taking office. The visit is made in the context that Vietnam and Mongolia are aiming to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (1954-2024).
Vietnam and Mongolia are traditional friends. The peoples of the two countries have a long-standing relationship. Over the past 70 years, since the two countries established diplomatic ties on November 17, 1954, the long-standing friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Mongolia have been continuously strengthened and has developed strongly in the context of the many fluctuations in the international and regional situation. Vietnam consistently values and wishes to further deepen friendship and cooperation with Mongolia.
Always valuing relations with Vietnam, Mongolia affirms that it considers Vietnam an important partner in the Asia-Pacific region and its most important partner in Southeast Asia. Mongolia has placed a statue and opened a Gallery of President Ho Chi Minh at a high school named after him in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
The high-level and all-level delegation exchanges and contacts between the two countries have been regularly maintained, so mutual understanding and trust have been consolidated and cooperation in various fields has been enhanced. The cooperation in security and defence is always an important pillar in the overall relationship between the two countries. Most recently, on the occasion of the visit by the Mongolian Defence Minister to Vietnam in November 2019, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement on defence.
The economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Mongolia has recently progressed positively. Established in 1979, the Vietnam-Mongolia Intergovernmental Committee Mechanism on economics, trade, and scientific and technical cooperation at the deputy ministerial level was upgraded to the ministerial level in 2012. The Committee has convened its biennial meeting and up to now 18 meetings have been held. Vietnam and Mongolia signed many memoranda of understanding on the cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, culture, agriculture, and immigration management.
Trade exchange between the two countries has grown rapidly in recent years. From 5-6 million USD in the 1990s, their bilateral trade turnover hit 50 million USD in 2020, increased to 80-85 million USD in 2021 and 2022, and reached 75 million USD in the first eight months of 2023. The two countries have made efforts to expand imports and exports of products that both sides have strengths such as agricultural and aquatic products, Vietnamese consumer goods and Mongolia’s cattle meat and footwear products.
Cooperation in culture, arts, education, and training has been developing strongly. Since 2014, Mongolia has regularly sent delegations to Hue Festival. The agencies and organisations from the two countries have worked together to produce and widely screen many documentaries about the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Mongolia, President Ho Chi Minh, and the land and people of the two countries. The art troupes have organised many performances in both countries. Vietnam and Mongolia signed a cooperation agreement in the field of training and have regularly organised student exchange programmes. The cooperation in labour, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and between localities has been enhanced.
Vietnam and Mongolia have promoted their coordination in an effective, practical, and regular manner as well as supported each other in international and regional issues of common concern. The two sides have also supported each other in running for positions and agencies of the United Nations, as well as in taking on international and regional responsibilities.
In the context that two countries are aiming to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the State visit to Vietnam by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh is of important significance. This is an opportunity for the leaders of Vietnam and Mongolia to evaluate the positive results of cooperation between the two countries in recent years while also planning to further exploit the potential and strongly promote cooperation in many fields, especially politics, security, economics, trade, agriculture, health, education, and training.
Welcoming President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, his spouse and the high-ranking delegation of Mongolia, Vietnam affirms the Party and State's consistent policy of highly valuing friendship and cooperation with traditional friend countries and wishing to strengthen Vietnam-Mongolia relations for comprehensive and substantive development. This is also an activity to implement the 13th National Party Congress’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, development, multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, and active and proactive promotion of comprehensive and deep international integration.
The success of the first state-level visit to Vietnam by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and his spouse will make an important contribution to consolidating and strengthening the long-standing friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, bringing Vietnam-Mongolia relations to a new level of development, meeting the interests and aspirations of the two peoples while contributing to peace, stability and common development.
