On the invitation of US Vice President Kamala Harris, Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun – Erdene traveled to Washington, DC, in August 2023. The high-level intergovernmental meeting aims to strengthen US-Mongolian economic ties in a variety of fields, including essential minerals, air, and trade.
Mongolia’s natural sources are important and essential to its national economy as world powers continue to compete for alliances and resources. & nbsp,
Capitalizing on the crucial nutrients with immediate neighbors Russia and China, as well as” next neighbor” lovers like the United States, South Korea, France, and other developed countries, is the current government’s approach for luring investment.
During the services of past president Donald Trump and Battulga Khaltmaa, the United States and Mongolia formed a strategic alliance in 2019. The administration of President Joe Biden also pledged to improve the United States’ long-term status in the Indo-Pacific, which includes Mongolia.
The US Indo-Pacific Strategy and Mongolia’s third-north neighbor foreign policy give the two nations a solid foundation on which to build on the political institutions, financial diversity, and civil society of Mongolia. In spite of its conflicts with Moscow and Beijing, the Biden administration’s courtship of Ulaanbaatar shows a growing US involvement in fostering economic relations.
The working system of Mongolia’s next neighbor international policy is provided by the high-level meetings between Tibetan and US leaders. The financial efforts of Ulaanbaatar continue to be hampered by the shifting political culture in Northeast Asia. & nbsp,
The foundation of Ulaanbaatar’s foreign plan is its collaboration with international partners, including its immediate relatives Russia and China and the United States. Mongolia must therefore be watchful, firm, and adaptable when pursuing its second neighbor’s goals.
Strengthening strategic relationship with Washington requires mobility and a methodical political strategy to hasten economic cooperation given Mongolia’s geographic constraint of being landlocked between two key US enemies, Russia and China.
The US Congress proposed the & nbsp, Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act in 2018 before establishing the strategic partnership. Disruptions increased when the act was reintroduced to Congress in 2019 and 2021. If permitted, Mongolia’s high-quality textiles and wool may become duty-free exported to the United States.
The signing of the US-Mongolian Transparency Agreement & nbsp in 2017 is another step toward enhancing Mongolia’s legal framework for trade. The United States signed this trade deal in 2017 as the first stand-alone partnership on international trade and investment clarity. & nbsp,
The United States has only ever negotiated agreements to foil in the past as a part of larger contracts. Negotiating a stand-alone deal with Mongolia firmly establishes cooperation between the United States and Mongolia and enables financial activity to pick up speed.
With 1.84 % annual growth in Mongolia’s exports to the US between 1995 and 2021, the diplomatic trading marriage is still thriving. Washington also needs the Mongol government to take more action, though.
Richard Buangan, the US embassy to Mongolia, expressed his concern about the government’s transparent parliamentary procedures and investment environment, which continue to be” unattractive for buyers and challenging for importers and exporters ,” to the American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia in January 2023.
Jose W. Fernandez, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, met with senior state representatives and other partners in Ulaanbaatar in June 2023 to strengthen US-Mongolia’s economic relations.
The US-Mongolia Open Skies Agreement was likewise put into effect during Prime Minister Oyun-Ederene’s subsequent trip to Washington. The Agreement, according to the US Department of Transportation,” will promote greater heat communication between the United States and Mongolia and will provide the legal foundation for everyday customer planes.”
The 132nd US Open Skies lover is then Mongolia. Additionally, Mongolia will begin a direct flight from San Francisco to Ulaanbaatar in August 2023 after receiving its second Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
However, Mongolia will still need to use diplomatic and intergovernmental programs, such as the Russia-Mongolia-China Economic Corridor, to fortify and quicken economic ties with Moscow and Beijing. Other multilateral gatherings, such as the US-Mongolia-South Korea or the USD-MONGLIA-Japan partnerships, even act as significant economic gateways.
From a political perspective, smaller states like Mongolia frequently run into problems because of the ongoing war and sanctions between Russia and Ukraine and the US and China in the trade. For Mongolia’s traditional communication of extensive strategic alliances with Moscow and Beijing to continue, a balanced approach is required.
As an immediate neighbor and a leading investment source for Mongolian copper ore, & nbsp, coal briquettes, and Iron Ore in the short – to medium-term, Beijing will continue to be an important economic partner for that country.
However, Mongolia is now a candidate for the & nbsp, Minerals Security Partnership, an initiative with 14 nations, the majority of which are Western, that aims to promote sustainable investment in the mining, processing, and recycling of essential minerals.
To help its economic and social development, Mongolia may make sure that its foreign policy remains adaptable and diverse.
Researcher Bolor Lkhaajav has areas of expertise in the Americas, East Asia, Russia, Japan, and Mongolia.
This andnbsp, post, and was originally published by East Asia Forum and are being reprinted with permission from Creative Commons.