To continue positive momentum in the United States-Mongolia Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership, representatives of the two governments held the 16th Annual Bilateral Consultations on December 12 in Washington.  In this Strategic Dialogue, the U.S. and Mongolian sides discussed the current state of bilateral relations, regional and global challenges, and shared accomplishments.

The dialogue was co-chaired by Daniel J. Kritenbrink, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia.  It was attended by Richard Buangan, Ambassador of the United States of America to Mongolia, and Batbayar Ulziidelger, Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States of America; by representatives from the Office of the Vice President of the United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, International Development Finance Corporation, Office of the United States Trade Representative, NASA; and by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia.

In this 36th year of bilateral diplomatic relations, the U.S. and Mongolian sides noted with satisfaction the meeting between Vice President Kamala Harris and Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai in Washington in August 2023 and underscored the intent of both nations to continue strengthening official dialogue and concrete cooperation for the benefit of their peoples.

The two sides shared their respective visions for democracy and regional development, including in the Indo-Pacific, and exchanged views on cooperating to ensure a prosperous and peaceful future.  They underscored that the international community should work toward security and peace, including through UN peacekeeping efforts.  The U.S. side commended Mongolia’s commitment to further strengthening the role of women in peacekeeping.  The two sides noted with concern the urgent security situation in Haiti.  Mongolia and the United States emphasized the importance of international law, including the United Nations Charter and the principles of sovereign equality, respect for the political independence and territorial integrity of states, and prohibition of the threat or use of force.  To this end, the two sides expressed deep concern over the humanitarian consequences of the war in Ukraine.  Both sides reiterated their commitment to diplomacy with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as the only viable means of achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and called on the DPRK to fully comply with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

The two sides noted the significance of the Economic Cooperation Roadmap for the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership, signed in August 2023, and further discussed opportunities to advance economic cooperation, including through capacity building, trade facilitation and promotion, and improving the investment climate.  Both sides noted the importance of investment in climate resilience, agriculture, supply chain security, small and medium enterprise development. They highlighted critical minerals and clean energy as areas of high potential and importance. Both sides expressed a desire to enhance collaboration in the digital domain to strengthen connectivity, prosperity, and cybersecurity.  They emphasized that increased space cooperation can contribute to the scientific and commercial interests of both nations.  They further noted with satisfaction the entry into force of the bilateral Air Transport Agreement, signed in August 2023 during Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene’s visit, and underscored their mutual intent to diligently support the required processes to launch direct flights between the United States and Mongolia as soon as possible.

The two nations highlighted their shared commitment to democratic values and individual freedoms, as well as to strengthening the rule of law, promoting good governance, fighting corruption, and protecting human rights, including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief.  The two nations expressed their mutual intent to continue collaboration in these areas and to encourage people-to-people ties through educational exchanges, tourism, and cultural channels.  They expressed readiness to support the promotion of English language learning and teaching in Mongolia.                                          

The United States and Mongolia decided to maintain the exchange of high-level bilateral visits and hold the next Annual Bilateral Consultations in 2024 in Ulaanbaatar.