Far but close? Why is Lukashenko flying to Mongolia and what prospects open up between the countries

Dmitry Gorelik Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Mongolia President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will make a state visit to Mongolia on June 1-4. Minsk and Ulaanbaatar are separated by almost 7 thousand km, but our countries are much closer to each other than it might seem. In December 1991, Mongolia became the third country to recognize the independence and state sovereignty of Belarus. A month later, in January 1992, diplomatic relations were established between the countries. Yes, the current presidential visit is the first in the history of bilateral relations, but in fact, Alexander Lukashenko has already visited Mongolia, and at one of the most significant moments. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Mongolia Dmitry Gorelik told how cooperation between the countries is developing and what prospects the visit of the Belarusian leader to Ulaanbaatar opens up.



- Dmitry Nikolaevich, the President of Belarus is visiting Mongolia for the first time on a state visit. But, if we are not mistaken, Alexander Lukashenko has already been to Ulaanbaatar before?

- Yes, he visited Mongolia during his parliamentary years. In January 1992 , Prime Minister of Belarus Vyacheslav Kebich arrived on a visit to Ulaanbaatar, returning from China . Alexander Lukashenko was also part of the delegation at that time. By the way, it was at this moment that diplomatic relations between our countries were established.

But in his capacity as President, Alexander Lukashenko is visiting Mongolia for the first time this year.

The head of the Belarusian state is eagerly awaited in Mongolia, and the country attaches great importance to this event. As the embassy said, President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh has personal control over the preparations for the visit. And for good reason: in December, on the sidelines of the climate summit in Dubai, he reminded Alexander Lukashenko that he was waiting for him to visit, which means he must keep his mark.



In March, Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik visited Ulaanbaatar with a representative delegation. During a meeting with the Mongolian leader, he gave him a message from Alexander Lukashenko, in which the head of state confirmed his readiness to visit Mongolia and expressed hope that his visit would be meaningful.
- How have relations between our countries developed all these years?

- If we talk about the economy, our relations intensified in 2013 - after the visit of Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich. Our embassy opened here in 2014. Since that time, economic relations began to develop progressively. For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have resumed deliveries of our mining dump trucks. The range of supplied goods expanded (from food to agricultural and passenger equipment), and our exports increased .

Belarusand Mongolia also tried to maintain relations at the political level. Alexander Lukashenko met with Presidents Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj at the SCO and BRICS summits in July 2015 in Ufa and Khaltmaagiin Battulga at the SCO summit in June 2018 in Qingdao.

In 2019, an intergovernmental general agreement on the provision of export credit was concluded between our countries, and our supplies to Mongolia have increased noticeably: in 2020, exports grew to $50 million. Now we are again working on new instruments to support exports, negotiations are underway. We hope that the visit of the head of state will give impetus to our cooperation.

All resources are being mobilized for the visit, very good contracts have been prepared. Now the most important thing is being resolved - the issue of financing.

The most pressing task for Mongolia now is the development of the agro-industrial sector. The country, according to statements from local officials, intends to make a revolution (in the good sense of the word) in agriculture, and it is very impressed with the experience of Belarus. First of all, Mongolia plans to modernize the livestock industry. And this requires equipment, new farms and complexes.



Belarusian tractors have been actively used in Mongolia since Soviet times. It is possible that the parties will organize joint production of agricultural machinery for subsequent equipment of Mongolian farms. Mongolian producers, by the way, use Belarusian milk powder to produce dairy products and Belarusian malt to produce beer.
Industry ministries have prepared a roadmap for the development of cooperation in agriculture, which outlines projects and steps for their implementation.

- In terms of territory, Mongolia is a rather large state, but in terms of population it is quite small. Considering that its two neighbors are the giant Russia and China , will there definitely be a place for us in this country?

- Yes, the market capacity here is relatively small. But among the countries of the distant arc we look very confident. Let's look at Mongolia's needs. Today it needs trains, fire fighting equipment and dump trucks. And these are just a few items that can significantly increase our trade turnover (over the past three to four years, the number of product items has ranged from 100 to 160).
We are also interested in creating joint assembly plants. Delivery of goods is the simplest thing it can be. After all, if a country masters the production of necessary equipment, then local residents prefer to choose it.

At the Mongolian Emergency Situations Agency, Belarusian special equipment has been on combat duty for a long time. Mongolian rescuers also use technical equipment from Belarus in their work. They are satisfied with the operating experience. Thanks to the work of Belarusian equipment, more than 13 thousand people have already been saved and property damage worth over $20 million has been prevented.

- What do we import from Mongolia?

- Imports from Mongolia are quite modest. We are interested in the supply of traditional raw materials: cashmere, wool, leather. We had proposals to open a store of cashmere products from Mongolia in Minsk: it is famous for its production.

- To summarize: why Mongolia and why now?

- We began preparing for the current visit of the head of state last year, when we received an invitation from the Mongolian side. Therefore, it is impossible to say that this is an unscheduled visit.

And why Mongolia: I remember when, when appointing me as ambassador, the President said that we need to work not only with large countries, we need to trade with everyone. Moreover, Mongolia and I have never had any disagreements; we have always treated each other well.

Belarus and Mongolia are preparing to sign a treaty of friendship and cooperation. It will become a fundamental document in bilateral relations. By the way, cooperation between countries is much broader than economics. Projects are also planned in the humanitarian, cultural, sports and tourism fields.