The Ties that Bind with Korea and Mongolia
The Ties that Bind with Korea and Mongolia
  • Korea IT Times
  • 승인 2010.03.25 19:20
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H.E. Gerel Dorjpalam, the Ambassador of Mongolia

For the 20-year anniversary of Korea and Mongolia diplomatic ties they will continue to push forward on the progress made with stronger relations and foster new approaches to Korea. Thus, Korea and Mongolia share a long history, cultural and linguistic ties, and as well as dynamic contemporary relations. For such passion for one another these two nations will maintain the ties that bind for a new age. Therefore, for this extraordinary occasion Korea IT Times had an interview with the Ambassador of Mongolia and Kim Ho-youn, chairman of the Kim Koo Foundation, contributed his article as follows.

At the moment, what is the most vital issue concerning the bilateral relations between the two countries And what are the positive achievements

Exactly 20 years have passed since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Republic of Korea. Early 1990s was start of a new era for Mongolia when it chose free market economy and democratic system, and the Republic of Korea was one of the first countries among former socialist countries, which established diplomatic relations with Mongolia as a result of its new foreign policy. Our two countries have hundreds of years' history of bilateral relations. Since Korea is one of our third neighbor countries, we don't have any political issues or unresolved misunderstandings.

Which sector's development is the most promising among the various bilateral cooperation sectors

I think the Development of bilateral development and cooperation can be divided into three stages. The first stage covers the historical period before 1990, when the cooperation was limited to only cultural, scientific and sports exchanges. Since 1990, Mongolia initiated the establishment of diplomatic relationship and it brought a new step into our bilateral cooperation. I expect that the third stage will start in 2010, which will accelerate and intensify the development of our existing cooperation and relationship.

There is a big potential to expand the bilateral cooperation in many sectors because there are many positive factors to influence, such as close geographical location and minimal time difference. Besides, Korea has a big investment potential due to its highly developed economy and technologically advanced industrial base, however, our country's economy is based on agriculture and natural resources.

I would like to add here my personal opinion regarding the political relationships. Mongolia had maintained a friendly relationship with North-East Asian countries including the Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the U.S.A. In that sense, there is a great perspective to expand the cooperation in all areas.

Mongolia is landlocked country sandwiched between Russia and China. I heard about the concept of "the third neighbor" For Mongolia, how many third neighbors should there be: Only one or several countries which have certain impact on us

The foreign policy of Mongolia has a special concept "The third neighbor". As a small country neighboring with two giant countries, it is very important to have a good relationship with Russia and China. However, in order to implement the multi-faceted foreign policy, we need to have some other pillars from "the third neighbors" such as Korea, the U.S.A. the European Union, Japan, Australia and India in addition to our traditional relations with Russia and China. Korea is absolutely one of our biggest third neighbor countries. There are thousands of Mongolians living and working in Korea. And the number of travelers between the two countries has already reached 200 thousand a year.

What is perspective of Korea regarding economic cooperation with us

As mentioned above, there is a great opportunity for us to develop mutually beneficial economic cooperation. It is very important for us to learn from the development experiences, and to get technological and financial investments from Korea. And our embassy's activity is also directed to accelerate this process. We are studying new trends in foreign policies of Korea such as "Energy Diplomacy" and "Green Growth", initiated by President Lee Myung-Bak, and trying to apply them into foreign policy of Mongolia. Mongolia needs to become a country with a highly developed independent economy based on value added national products, therefore the Embassy is working towards to strengthen the economic cooperation with the host country.

Oyu Tolgoi Investment agreement was signed last year. Since the contract got signed, it is expected that the number of foreign investors to Mongolia will rise. Is there any possibility to develop the bilateral cooperation in this sector

Signing of Oyu Tolgoi Investment agreement was really a historical event. During the last few years, the government of Korea has been intensely expressing its interest to invest and cooperate in Mongolian mining and power generation sectors. Korea Resource Corporation Consortium, governed by state owned giant enterprise of Korea, which covers 11 countries of the world, has been also proposing its cooperation with our Tavan Tolgoi project.

Having acquired the best technologies of infrastructural development such as civil engineering, railway transportation, industrial power generation, and steel processing Korea has become one of the world's leading investors. My intention is to fully utilize this opportunity while they are offering a very profitable cooperation proposal.

What is Korea's current policy on importing labor force from other countries Have all the issues, arisen from social security of Mongolians, been settled What is your opinion on this matter

Yes, labor force issue is obviously one of the most vital issues. Currently, there are 17 thousand Mongolians are under labor contract, and another 2000 are students, over 4000 people are living on the basis of their marriage to Koreans and private business people, and the rest of the Mongolians are overstaying their visa permission. Our country is listed in fourth place according to our labor force in Korea. As both sides have agreed on labor contracting terms, the legal foundation has taken place already. We have opened a representative office of Social Insurance Authority in Seoul and a branch of the Center to Send Labor Force Abroad.

Which activities does embassy organize in order to promote Mongolia In general, how popular is Mongolia among Koreans

Besides organizing events in order to promote Mongolia among the host country citizens, we also aim to reach Mongolians residing here. We do participate different events, give interviews to newspapers and TVs, and organize lectures at educational and research institutions. For Mongolians living here, we organize meetings and gatherings to share information and listen to them during the big celebrations like Naadam, TsagaanSar, Independence Day, Spring Festival and Autumn Festival, and during the high profile official visits from Mongolia. I guess because of their positive approach to Mongolians, many Mongolians live and work here.

they will continue to push forward on the progress made with stronger relations and foster new approaches to Korea. Thus, Korea and Mongolia share a long history, cultural and linguistic ties, and as well as dynamic contemporary relations. For such passion for one another these two nations will maintain the ties that bind for a new age. Therefore, for this extraordinary occasion Korea IT Times had an interview with the Ambassador of Mongolia and Kim Ho-youn, chairman of the Kim Koo Foundation, contributed his article as follows.

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