1. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Mongolia diplomatic relations, at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and his wife, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam To Lam paid a state visit to Mongolia from September 30 to October 1, 2024. During the visit, General Secretary and President To Lam held talks with President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, met with National Assembly Chairman Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan and Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun - Erdene.
2. The two countries' senior leaders highly appreciated the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Mongolia which has been strongly expanded over the past 70 years; exchanged in-depth opinions on the direction of bilateral relations development in the coming time and regional and international issues of mutual concern.
3. The Mongolian side affirmed that it always considers Vietnam an important partner in the Southeast Asian region, wishing to develop and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields. Vietnam affirmed that it attaches importance to developing relations with Mongolia, respects Mongolia's foreign policy of peace, openness, autonomy and multi-pillars, the "third neighbor" policy and wishes to promote further development of bilateral relations in the coming time.
4. The two countries' senior leaders agreed that the development and deepening of relations between Vietnam and Mongolia is in line with the common interests of the people of the two countries, making an important contribution to ensuring peace, stability and development in the region and the world; agreed to upgrade the bilateral relations to a "Comprehensive Partnership" and continue to promote the expansion of cooperation, specifically as follows:
I. Strengthening political cooperation
5. The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges, interactions, and contacts at high and all levels through the channels of the Party, State, Government, and National Assembly; agreed to support the policy of expanding close relations between the people of the two countries; and study the possibility of establishing new cooperation mechanisms between ministries, branches, and localities of the two countries.
6. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between legislative bodies, including developing cooperation between specialized committees, groups of parliamentarians, young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians commensurate with the new framework of relations; promoting the signing of a new Cooperation Agreement between the two National Assemblies to replace the Agreement signed in 2018.
7. The two sides agreed to effectively maintain the rotating political consultation mechanism at the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs level; regularly discuss bilateral cooperation, foreign policy, international and regional issues of mutual concern; and study the form of establishing a multilateral negotiation mechanism.
II. Expanding defense, security and law enforcement cooperation
8. The two sides highly appreciated the recent developments in defense and security cooperation; agreed to continue to maintain meetings, contacts, and exchanges of delegations at all levels.
9. The two sides stressed the importance of continuing to expand cooperation between the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of the two countries.
10. The two sides agreed to effectively implement signed cooperation agreements, accelerate negotiation procedures towards signing agreements in the fields of security and crime prevention; enhance cooperation in exchanging relevant crime information; coordinate assessment and forecasting of issues related to the interests and national security of the two countries.
III. Expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation
11. The two sides' senior leaders agreed to promote substantive, effective and comprehensive economic cooperation; maintain bilateral economic cooperation mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade, scientific and technological cooperation; agreed to strengthen the role of the Business Councils of both sides through supporting the implementation of trade promotion activities, promoting business cooperation connections within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement signed between the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry and the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
12. The two countries' senior leaders agreed to study appropriate solutions to improve the investment environment; consider signing a new Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection.
IV. Promote substantive cooperation in the fields of agriculture, science, transportation, culture, sports, tourism, education, labor, environment and social protection
13. The two sides' senior leaders agreed to promote the modernization of the agricultural cooperation program within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam on cooperation in the agricultural sector signed in 2022.
14. The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of policies, orientations, and solutions for the development of the agricultural sectors of both sides; create a legal environment for the export of agricultural products of both sides' strengths; and support research and application of high technology in the agricultural sector.
15. The two sides agreed to promote the realization of agreements/commitments within the framework of the Intergovernmental Committee, including the Science and Technology Subcommittee mechanism; enhance cooperation in research and development of high-tech science, digital technology, innovation and information and communication.
16. The two sides emphasized the need to strengthen coordination to find feasible solutions, remove difficulties and challenges in logistics transportation; exchange experiences, and effectively implement signed cooperation agreements in the fields of road, rail, sea and air transport. Mongolia supports Vietnam's participation in the Tripartite International Road Transport Agreement between Russia - Mongolia - China signed in 2016. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between airlines of the two countries; and agreed to continue studying the establishment of a mechanism for the transportation of goods between the three countries of Vietnam - China - Mongolia.
17. The two sides agreed to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation signed between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia in 2022; strengthen the development and implementation of joint programs to encourage and promote the exchange of cultural, artistic and sports delegations of the two sides.
18. The two sides agreed to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries by enhancing cooperation in the restoration, embellishment and rehabilitation of historical and cultural relics and intangible heritages; promoting the tourism potential and strengths of both sides; actively cooperating in exchanging information and experience in tourism policies and management.
19. Within the framework of the Agreement on cooperation in education and training, the two sides agreed to award scholarships to students of each country according to their needs and fields of study.
20. The two sides agreed to continue studying the ability to supply and receive labor in industries and fields that the labor markets of both sides need based on the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Labor, War invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Mongolia (2017).
21. Vietnam highly appreciates Mongolia’s efforts in responding to climate change and desertification, including the Mongolian President’s “Plant a Billion Trees” Initiative, which contributes to greening the steppe and combating desertification in Mongolia. Accordingly, the two sides agreed to consider studying the planting of some trees suitable for Mongolia’s soil in some planned areas.
22. The two sides agreed to study the possibility of implementing joint programs and projects to respond to climate change.
23. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of information and communications; study and sign a cooperation agreement in the field of information and communications; provide information, images, and documents on the economic, cultural, and social development process so that the people of the two countries can increasingly understand each other's country and people; cooperate in applying information technology and digital transformation in economic fields.
V. Strengthening regional and international cooperation
24. The two sides' senior leaders highly appreciated the close cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international and regional organizations, agreed to continue close cooperation, regular exchanges on regional security and political issues, and international situations of mutual concern; and continued close cooperation within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations.
25. The two sides agreed to cooperate closely within the framework of international and regional organizations such as ASEM, WTO, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), APEC and the “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue” initiative on Northeast Asian Security. The Vietnamese side reaffirmed its support for Mongolia to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN countries and join APEC when it expands its membership.
26. The two sides agreed to pay attention to expanding cooperation in dealing with non-traditional security threats such as climate change, counter-terrorism, and transnational crime.
27. Within the framework of active cooperation with the international community, contributing to the world's common efforts to protect the environment, combat desertification and respond to climate change, Vietnam expressed its willingness to send a delegation to attend the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, to be held in 2026.
28. The two sides emphasized the importance of maintaining a peaceful, secure and stable environment in the East Sea, and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the United Nations Charter, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).
During the visit, the two sides signed the following documents:
(1) Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the legal field between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Mongolia;
(2) Cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Mongolia on cyber security and crime prevention;
(3) Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam and the Ministry of Transport of Mongolia;
(4) Memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia;
(5) Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening friendly and cooperative relations between Hanoi City and Ulaanbaatar City Government;
(6) Memorandum of Cooperation between the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences;.
(7) Memorandum of Cooperation between Vietnam National University, Hanoi and Mongolian University of Science and Technology.
29. The two countries' senior leaders agreed that the state visit to Mongolia by General Secretary and President To Lam made an important contribution to orienting and opening up prospects for friendly cooperation between the two countries. General Secretary and President To Lam sincerely thanked Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and the Mongolian people for the warm, friendly and respectful reception given to the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation during the state visit to Mongolia.
