Results of the 8th meeting of the Kazakh-Mongolian intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation

On November 25, 2020, the 8th meeting of the Kazakh-Mongolian intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation was held via videoconference under the co-chairmanship of the Minister of trade and integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Sultanov and the Minister of labor and social protection of Mongolia A. Ariunzai.

The work of the intergovernmental Commission was attended by the ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as representatives of interested state bodies and organizations of the two countries.

In his welcoming speech, Minister B. Sultanov confirmed his desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields and stressed the role of the intergovernmental Commission as an important mechanism for expanding cooperation between Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

During the meeting, the Parties discussed a wide range of bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, in particular such areas as trade and economic cooperation, cooperation in investment, entrepreneurship, transport, agriculture, culture, sports and tourism, education and science, standardization, conformity assessment and Metrology, and other areas.

The parties noted that the meeting of the intergovernmental Commission is one of the preparatory stages for the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan A. Mamin to Mongolia.

In order to develop and expand trade and investment cooperation, as well as create cooperation projects, the parties expressed interest in signing a Roadmap for enhancing trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Mongolia for 2021-2024.

"We also plan to create the Kazakh-Mongolian Business Council, which will serve as a good platform for maintaining and establishing business contacts, exchanging information about available business opportunities, opportunities for implementing projects and joint ventures," Minister B. Sultanov said in his speech.

The parties paid special attention to the need to create a reliable transport and logistics corridor capable of ensuring the flow of goods on competitive terms. In the context of the pandemic, the issue of maintaining regular freight transport, international regular bus and direct air services is important and makes a significant contribution to the development of bilateral relations between countries.

Summing up the meeting, Minister B. Sultanov noted: "The agreements reached in the framework of the intergovernmental Commission will give additional impetus to further development of trade-economic ties between our countries, which will contribute to the strategic partnership of Kazakhstan and Mongolia".

In 2019, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Mongolia decreased by 21.1% and amounted to 76 million US dollars.

For the first 9 months of 2020, mutual trade amounted to us $ 24.8 million. Exports from Kazakhstan to Mongolia totaled us $ 23.5 million, while imports totaled us $ 1.3 million.

Following the meeting, a Protocol was signed in an online format.