Mongolia hopes for summit with S. Korea: Mongolian presidential chief of staff

Jung Won-ju, chairman of Herald Corp. and Daewoo E&C (fifth from right, second row) and Choi Jin-young, CEO of Herald Media Group (third from right, second row) join Gombojavyn Zandanshatar (center, front row), chief of staff to the Mongolian president, along with other key attendees for a breakfast meeting of the 2nd Korea-Mongolia Vision Strategy Forum held at the Novotel Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia on Aug. 27. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald).

Mongolia hopes for a bilateral summit with South Korea with the leaders of the two countries paving the way to improve ties for the future, according to Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, Chief of Staff to the Mongolian President.

During a breakfast meeting at the 2nd Korea-Mongolia Vision Strategy Forum, hosted by Herald Corp. — publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business — and the Ahnsei Foundation at the Novotel in Ulaanbaatar on Aug. 27, Zandanshatar stated, "We planned two summits with Korea before that were unfortunately canceled. With the current vibrant exchanges between Korea and Mongolia, we hope a summit can be realized to significantly enhance our bilateral relations."

Zandanshatar cited France as an example of successful engagement, noting that after a summit last year, both countries have discussed ways to put efforts into a nuclear power project in Mongolia together. French President Emmanuel Macron visited Mongolia in May last year, marking the first visit by a French leader, and held talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. French nuclear company Orano is involved in uranium mining in Mongolia and is exploring the export of nuclear technology to the country, according to Zandanshatar.

He also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to visit Mongolia soon for talks with Khurelsukh. The Kremlin officially announced that this visit is scheduled for Tuesday. This will be Putin's second visit to Mongolia this year, following his attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in July. Amid ongoing tensions with the West over Ukraine, Putin has been focusing on Asia, recently visiting countries such as China, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan.

Zandanshatar expressed gratitude to the South Korean team participating in the forum last week.

"With the new government launched in July and in the process of designing economic development plans, we appreciate the cooperation shown by key Korean figures visiting Mongolia," he said. He also announced plans to visit Korea in October.

South Korean representatives at the forum included Kim Sook, co-president of the Korea-Mongolia Vision Forum and a former UN ambassador; Park Young-june, director and vice president of the Ahnsei Foundation; Rep. Kim Dai-sik, a member of the National Assembly; Jung Won-ju, chairman of Herald Corp. and Daewoo E&C; Choi Jin-young, CEO of Herald Media Group; Jang young-jin, CEO of the Korea Trade Insurance Corp.; Yang Kum-hee, vice governor of North Gyeongsang Province; Kim Hyun-jae, president of the Korea Energy Economics Institute; Park Eun-sil, president of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service; Kim Chang-hwi, chairman of KCH Group; Lee Dong-jo, chairman of Taerim; Jung Tae-yoong, professor at Yonsei university's Graduate School of International Studies; and Kang Sung-jin, an economics professor at Korea University.

Zandanshatar previously served as the chairman of the State Great Khural, the parliament of Mongolia, and held positions as chief of the cabinet secretariat of the government of Mongolia, minister for foreign affairs, and deputy minister of food and agriculture.

By Lee Jaeeun(jenn@heraldcorp.com)