Joint Statement by Foreign Affairs Ministers of Mongolia and Canada

November 20, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, and, Her Excellency Battsetseg Batmunkh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, today issued the following joint statement:

“Today, Canada and Mongolia reaffirm their strong bilateral relations, as Minister Battsetseg pays an official visit to Canada at the invitation of Minister Joly. This is the first visit by a Mongolian Foreign Minister to Canada in 25 years.

“Canada and Mongolia reaffirm the strong commitment and values of the bilateral ties as our two countries celebrate the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Over the last half a century, Mongolia and Canada relations have grown to Expanded Partnership based on the shared commitment to promoting and protecting democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.

“Minister Battsetseg reaffirms that Canada stands as one of the key “third neighbours” and an important partner in North America. Minister Joly emphasizes that Mongolia is a like-minded, important democratic partner of Canada in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The two Ministers commend the progress achieved in the implementation of the “Mongolia-Canada Roadmap for Comprehensive Partnership” and agree to upgrade the bilateral relations to Comprehensive Partnership for the common prosperity of Mongolia and Canada as well as peace and stability in the region. 

“Both sides express great satisfaction with the depth of bilateral dialogues and agree to further explore the potentials of extending the dialogues through multilateral engagements with partners in the region.

“The Ministers underline the significance of the bilateral development cooperation for the sustainable and inclusive development of Mongolia and welcome the continuation of the development cooperation program in fostering climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable resource management; public service capacity and inclusive governance; and gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

“To further expand the bilateral commercial relationship, both Ministers recognize the importance of diversifying the trade and investment relationship beyond the extractive sector into new areas, such as green building and infrastructure, energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, and clean energy.

“Mongolia emphasizes the collective challenges of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), particularly in infrastructure connectivity, transport and logistics, and seeks Canada’s support for the complex challenges facing LLDCs.

“The Ministers express their commitment to advance together the shared values and priorities in multilateral and regional fora, including the UN, OSCE, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Canada and Mongolia seek to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda by promoting the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in peace and security, including in peacekeeping operations.

“Minister Joly commends Mongolia for the “Ulaanbaatar Declaration” and welcomes Mongolia’s initiative to convene “World Women’s Forum” in 2024.

“Mongolia is thankful for the consistent engagement of Canada in the “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue” on Northeast Asian Security. The two Ministers underline the shared commitment to a nuclear-free, stable, and peaceful Korean Peninsula. The Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction with ongoing joint defence training cooperation, including “Khaan Quest,” a regularly scheduled multinational peacekeeping operations exercise hosted by Mongolia.

“The Ministers underscore the significance of promoting people-to-people ties and note the importance of promoting cultural exchanges for better mutual knowledge and understanding. Emphasizing the importance of education to each country and underlining the increased cooperation between the educational institutions, Canada and Mongolia remain committed to raising awareness among their respective learning institutions of opportunities to pursue studies, exchanges, and work abroad in both countries and to help facilitate the pursuit of new collaborations.”