Mongolia has a trading relationship with countries like the US, Canada, Russia, South Korea, and Japan. Three of those trade agreements which have been significant to its economy are discussed in this article
Mongolia – South Korea relations
Foreign ties between Mongolia and South Korea are known as Mongolia–South Korea relations. On March 26, 1990, both countries established diplomatic ties. Ulaanbaatar has a South Korean embassy. Mongolia is represented in Seoul via an embassy.
Mongolians in South Korea make up the largest group of Mongolians living outside of Mongolia. As of 2008, their population was estimated to be around 33,000. In Mongolia, there are roughly 3,500 South Koreans. Citizens of each country who reside in the other are spared from otherwise necessary contributions to the national pension schemes of the country in which they reside, thanks to a bilateral agreement reached in 2006.
Mongolia – Japan
On February 10, 2015, Japan and Mongolia signed an economic partnership agreement (“EPA”) to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment flows between the two countries, as well as create a regulatory framework for future cooperation on improving the business environment in general.
The EPA went into effect on June 7, 2016. Mongolia has signed its first free trade agreement, the EPA. The Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, dated 15 April 1994, is signed by both Japan and Mongolia (“WTO Agreement”). Both parties also joined Annex 1C of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”). Certain EPA commitments are in addition to the contracting parties’ existing commitments under the WTO Agreement and the TRIPS Agreement.
Mongolia- US
Mongolia and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1987. Mongolia, which is bordered by Russia and China, refers to the United States as its most significant “third neighbor.” Mongolia and the United States upgraded their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2019. Mongolians supported a peaceful democratic revolution in 1990 after nearly seven decades of socialist one-party rule and close ties to the Soviet Union. Mongolia has had eight presidential and legislative elections since becoming a democracy in June 2021. Mongolia’s market-oriented reforms have been aided by the US, which has also pushed to expand political, cultural, educational, and defense cooperation.
A cultural agreement, a Peace Corps agreement, and a consular convention have been struck between the United States and Mongolia. Since 2005, English has been required in Mongolian schools, and Mongolians’ interest in learning English and studying in the United States grows year after year. Since 2011, the Mongolian government has contributed $600,000 per year to co-fund the Fulbright master’s program, resulting in a threefold increase in Mongolians studying in the United States. In addition, about 1,500 Mongolians attend colleges and universities in the United States, some on private scholarships. Every year, about 120 Mongolians participate in government-funded educational, professional, and cultural exchange programs in the United States.
The United Nations, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Trade Organization are among the international organizations that Mongolia and the United States are members of. Mongolia is also a NATO Partner Nation and a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
