Visit by Turkish PM boosts bilateral relations

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Thursday for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Mongolia’s Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag. The two premiers held talks yesterday to discuss cooperation between Mongolia and Turkey and the implementation of joint projects.

During his visit, Prime Minister Erdogan will also meet with the President of Mongolia, Ts.Elbegdorj, and the Speaker of Parliament, Z.Enkhbold.

Prime Minister Erdogan is accompanied by Deputy Prime Ministers Bulent Arinc and Bekir Bozdag; the Minister for Culture and Tourism, Omer Celik; the Minister of Finance, Mehmet Şimşek; and several other Turkish officials.

The ties between Turkey and Mongolia, which have been relatively modest so far, are expected to receive a substantial boost with Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit this week.

“Erdogan’s visit will give great impetus to bilateral relations,” Badamdorj Batkhishig, Mongolia’s Ambassador to Turkey said.

Currently 56 Turkish companies operate in Mongolia, mostly in the restaurant business and the leather industry. Last month, around 10 businesspeople from the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) visited Mongolia for the Mongolia-Turkey business forum, and 20 Turkish businesspeople plan to pay a visit this month.

The bilateral relations between the two countries are based on a solid foundation of trade relations. Trade volume between the two countries reached 40 million USD in 2012.

Many of the geographical constraints to closer commercial ties and contacts were overcome last year with the establishment of direct flights between Istanbul and Ulaanbaatar, which constituted an important milestone in the relations between the two countries.

Mongolia and Turkey established diplomatic relations on 24 June 1969. The Embassy of Turkey in Ulaanbaatar was established in 1996 and the Embassy of Mongolia in Ankara opened in 1997.

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