US and Mongolia vow to strengthen economic, security cooperation

Asia-Pacific, News, US August 4, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai arrived in Washington on August 2, 2023, for the first time in the last five years, and met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. The meeting between the two leaders focused on strengthening economic and security cooperation between the U.S. and Mongolia.

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene was accompanied by Mongolia’s Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, who met with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The visit comes as the two countries are expanding cooperation in utilizing Mongolia’s deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial to the manufacture of high-tech items and renewable energy products, such as battery-powered electric vehicles.

A joint statement was released by the White House at the end of the meeting between Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mongolia has been a reliable friend and democracy in the Indo-Pacific for three decades.

And today, I welcomed Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene to the White House to further our work to promote a free and open region, which benefits American security and prosperity. pic.twitter.com/GloViN4Aau
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 2, 2023

The statement highlighted that “The United States commended Mongolia for its rigorous agenda to combat corruption through its five key measures. Mongolia expressed appreciation for U.S. assistance that has contributed to Mongolia’s development of effective judicial and law enforcement practices.”

The two sides vowed to “engage further in strategic security cooperation” on various fields “for a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region, including by working to address non-traditional defense and security challenges,” the statement added.

The joint statement emphasized that both countries “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 call on the DPRK to refrain from further violations of UN Security Council Resolutions and return to negotiations,” the statement said.

^{U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai on the balcony of her ceremonial office, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., on August 2, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Kevin Wurm)}

The two leaders also signed an “Open Skies” civil aviation agreement. The U.S. has an “Open Skies” agreement with 130 countries in the world. It allows airlines from both countries the right to operate in each other’s countries, liberalize airline regulation and impose safety and security standards.

US eyes on Mongolia’s mineral deposits

The U.S. has been pushing to develop a strong economic and defense partnership with the resources-rich country wedged between Russia and China. Mongolia is the top global supplier of several rare earth materials including copper, fluorite, gold, iron, and zinc.

Mongolia has 16% of the world’s total rare earth material deposits. Oyu Tolgoi, located in the country’s South Gobi region, is one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world.

Earlier in June, the U.S. and Mongolia signed an MoU to collaborate on exploring and mining rare earth materials. The MoU includes a framework for Mongolia and the United States to work together on technical areas of support to further Mongolia’s efforts to develop the capacity to encourage investment in its mineral resource sector.