Russia and Mongolia discussed important infrastructure projects
Relations with neighbors must develop even in the face of a pandemic. The special importance of such bilateral contacts was discussed at the Russian Intergovernmental Commission in Ulan Bator. Our head, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, includes representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and a dozen other departments.
One Hundred Years of Successful Diplomacy. This year Russia and Mongolia celebrate the anniversary of their official relations. Joint developments in the field of trade, energy, tourism. All these topics were reflected in the protocol signed following the meeting in Ulan Bator.
“We talked about important infrastructure projects, the first of which is construction. trans-Mongolian gas pipeline Russia-Mongolia-China is a priority project for us. We talked about the development of infrastructure for projects in Mongolia with the participation of the Russian side. – noted Victoria Abramchenko, Deputy Government of the Russian Federation. …
Energy projects of this magnitude in Mongolia are unprecedented. The Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline will be a continuation of Russia’s Power of Siberia-2 and will stretch almost 1,000 kilometers across Mongolian territory to China. In terms of export capacity, it will surpass the Power of Siberia – 1 by almost 50%, which now accounts for 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Now Mongolia is negotiating with Russia to not only receive revenues for the transit of fuel, but also to become a consumer country itself. It is assumed that the construction of the pipeline will begin in 2024 after all technical details have been agreed.
Our colleagues are from the Ministry of Energy, from Gazprom, from a subsidiary that will be specially created to deal with this project. And as soon as we see the feasibility study, then the cost and other parameters will be clear, “- said Victoria Abramchenko.
At the meeting we talked a lot about the prospects of mutual trade. In dockyard times, its annual volume reached $ 2 billion. Due to restrictions, trade fell by 20 percent. However, it continues to recover now. And, as the parties hope, by the end of the year, it will return to pre-crisis indicators.
Genghis Khan’s modern descendants have learned to benefit from economic relations with neighbors. Today Russia is one of the main trade partners for Mongolia.
True, so far, 97% of bilateral trade is formed by Russian exports. But Mongolian goods, for example, the famous cashmere, livestock products may be in demand in our market in the future. To promote them, Mongolia is now considering the possibility of concluding a free trade agreement with the entire Eurasian Economic Union.
“The volume of turnover, which decreased due to pandemic coronavirus, is recovering this year. We agreed to take further measures to increase Mongolian exports and, in general, trade between our countries, “said Sambuyagiin Amarsaykhan, Deputy Chairman of Mongolia.
The issues of mutual tasks, which are being discussed in Ulan Bator at the intergovernmental level, now have to work in more detail before the presidential meeting – in December, when the leader of Mongolia will arrive in Moscow.