Mongolia appeared to bask in the diplomatic limelight in the outgoing 2007, as top leaders of the landlocked country traveled around the globe for high-profile meetings with world leaders.
In efforts to further raise its international profile, Mongolia has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activities since the beginning of this year, yielding fruitful results.
In 2007, Mongolia's President Nambaryn Enkhbayar traveled to nearly 10 countries including South Korea, France, Britain, Japan and the United State, plus a number of overseas visits by other leaders like parliament speaker Danzangiin Lundeejantsan.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Czech Republic, Laos and Bulgaria, and the top legislator of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) paid visits to Mongolia. Mongolia also played host to a meeting on normalization of DPRK-Japan relations in September.
The intensity of its diplomatic activities has been unprecedented for a country which has a population of only 2.5 million and is striving to preserve its traditional nomadic culture.
RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES FURTHER ENHANCED
In 2007, political ties between Mongolia and its two major neighbors, China and Russia, have been further enhanced.
Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Mongolian counterpart Enkhbayar in Bishkek in August. And in June, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi paid his first overseas visit to Mongolia since taking office and both sides agreed to boost cooperation in diplomacy and security and enhance exchanges in trade and economy.
Sergei Mironov, chairman of Russia's Federation Council (upper chamber), visited Ulan Bator in May and Mongolian Foreign Minister Nyamaa Enkhbold paid a visit to Russia in October. The two sides agreed to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and economy.
Meanwhile, Mongolia, in a bid to push ahead with its all-round diplomacy, spared no efforts to boost its ties with the United States, Japan and South Korea, which it regards as the so-called "third neighbors."
As the biggest donor to Mongolia, Japan has steadily increased its aid to the country since 1991, which accounts for about half of the total Mongolia has received from foreign countries and international organizations.
Mongolia has long been a steadfast supporter of Japan for its bid to play a bigger role on the international arena. It also spearheaded the effort to back Japan's pursuit of permanent membership at the UN Security Council.
During his visit to Japan in February, Enkhbayar and Japanese leaders mapped out plans for future development of bilateral ties for the next decade. In July, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito toured Mongolia, which shows that the cooperative ties between the two countries are becoming increasingly closer.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and the United States. Enkhbayar held lengthy talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington in October. He also met with Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Labor Secretary Elaine Lan Chao.
During his stay in the U.S., Enkhbayar pledged continued support for the U.S.-led war on terror. Mongolia sent its eighth contingent of troops to Iraq this year at a time when some countries are pulling their troops out of the war-ravaged country.
The two sides also jointly organized military exercises in August, which involved more than 1,000 troops from nine countries.
Under a bilateral Millennium Challenge Compact, Mongolia will receive 285 million dollars from the United States in economic aidin the following five years.
TIES WITH TRADITIONAL FRIENDLY NATIONS PROMOTED
The fact that Mongolia and some East European countries share the same past experiences has helped in furthering their traditional ties this year, which witnessed exchanges of several high-level visits.
In visits to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany in September, parliament chairman Lundeejantsan reached agreement with leaders of these countries on exchanges of students, housing projects and ways to expand trade and economic links.
The Czech and Bulgarian presidents also visited Mongolia.
LINKS WITH ASIAN-PACIFIC RIM TIGHTENED
Mongolia made special efforts to develop ties with Asian-Pacific countries. Tsendiin Nyamdorj, then parliament chairman, traveled to New Zealand and Australia in February, and leaders from the DPRK, Kuwait and Laos also visited Mongolia during the year.
Meanwhile, in efforts to boost cooperation with Middle Eastern nations, Enkhbayar toured the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar and reached agreements with these countries on cooperation in air transport, labor and crude oil.
Source:Xinhua
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