The talks were held in a friendly atmosphere, with the parties exchanged views on the current state of Mongolian-Japanese relations, future goals and activities. Minister Enkhtaivan noted that the current visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, which is Mongolia’s ‘third neighbor’ and has shared democratic values, is taking place at a time when parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia and a new government has recently begun to work, and Japan’s new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been launched. Mongolia’s Foreign Minister expressed his confidence that the visit will further strengthen the Mongolian-Japanese strategic partnership and give impetus to bilateral cooperation.

Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stressed the importance of coordination and close cooperation with regional countries during the ongoing global pandemic and reaffirmed the commitment of the Japanese government to further expand and strengthen the developing strategic partnership of Mongolia and Japan. He said that the Japanese government has decided to provide Mongolia with JPY 25 billion (approximately USD 230 million) of loan on very favorable terms with an interest rate of 0.01 percent.

Following the official talks, the heads of the foreign ministries of Mongolia and Japan signed an exchange note for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Loan. Japanese Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also introduced that that the Japanese government has begun issuing visas to Mongolian citizens visiting Japan for business trips or staying in the country for a long period of time as part of the phased re-opening for mutual travels of citizens of the two countries. Mongolian Foreign Minister Enkhtaivan expressed deep gratitude to the Japanese government for its consistent support of democracy, reform and sustainable development in Mongolia since the early 1990s, as well as its assistance to Mongolia during the pandemic. Noting that the economic partnership agreement between Mongolia and Japan has begun to bear fruit, Minister Enkhtaivan expressed his interest in cooperation with Japan in order to actively attract Japanese investments, advanced technologies and know-how, diversify the economy and increase exports. He then put forward a proposal to convene a meeting of the relevant subcommittees in the near future with a view to intensify the implementation of the Mongolia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

During the talks, the parties also exchanged views on upcoming visits and high-level events in the near future, and agreed to deepen the Mongolian-Japanese Strategic Partnership in a wide range of areas, including politics, defense, trade, economy, agriculture, culture, education and consular relations. The Ministers also discussed about celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, which will fall in 2022. Affirming the successful implementation of the medium-term strategic partnership program between Mongolia and Japan, the parties agreed to settle on the content of the next program, which will be implemented in 2021-2025, in the near future. After mentioning the active cooperation between the two countries in regional and international foras, the parties confirmed their readiness to deepen bilateral cooperation within the UN and other international organizations, as well as to maintain close interaction in order to ensure development and prosperity in Northeast Asia and security on the Korean Peninsula.