Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to Mongolia from May 16 to 18, 2015, at the request of Chimed Saikhanbileg, the former Prime Minister of Mongolia.

Both the prime ministers were delighted with continuing bilateral relations within a comprehensive partnership. This was founded on profound civilisational, historical, spiritual, and cultural linkages, shared democratic traditions, and a common goal of regional and global peace and security.

Given their common aim to remain trusted partners, the two Prime Ministers agreed to elevate to a strategic partnership that could benefit the international community and help achieve prosperity and peace. This partnership aligned the two countries and placed their people’s collective interests at the forefront.

Indian and Mongolian History

  • Mineral-rich nations, Mongolia and India, have long had cultural and historical ties.
  • On December 24, 1955, India became the first non-socialist country to establish diplomatic ties with Mongolia.
  • India and Mongolia signed a cultural pact in 1961.
  • India backed Mongolia’s bid for UN and NAM membership.
  • India and Mongolia celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2015.
  • In the defence industry, India and Mongolia work together. The India-Mongolia Joint Working Group on Defence Cooperation organises an annual meeting to discuss the same.
  • The Nomadic Elephant joint military exercise is organised between India and Mongolia every year.
  • The first joint military drill between India and Mongolia took place in 2004.
  • Mongolian nationals are eligible for 40 scholarships each year from the Government of India to pursue higher education here.
  • Multiple literary works of Indian origin such as Ramayan, Godaan, Ritu Samhara, Kama Sutra, Panchatantra, Shakuntala, and Kati Patang, have been translated into Mongolian.
  • In Mongolia, Hindi films are quite popular. Ulaanbaatar TV has aired the Mongolian-dubbed series Mahabharata.
  • According to Mongolian Immigration data, about 200 Indians reside in Mongolia.

How Will PM Modi’s Visit Improve India and Mongolia’s Relationship?

PM Modi has been focusing on India’s foreign policy. Within 11 months, he visited around 16 countries and welcomed the President of China, Xi Jinping, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, US President, Barack Obama, and others to India.

PM Modi also visited Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal to create a stronger image for India on the map of South Asia. PM Modi has strengthened India’s bond with countries that are not its immediate neighbours under a 1990s notion known as the Third Neighbour Strategy. Now he is willing to develop that relationship further.

Mongolia is rich in resources and strategically located between Russia and China. He has been reaching out to Mongolia to help smoothen India’s relationship with China.

Mongolia has always been very friendly with India. At the time of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, the country supported India, and it left a permanent impact on the United Nations Security Council. 

Despite many efforts, India is still far from Mongolia, and the bilateral commerce between these two countries declined to $35 million in 2013 after peaking at $60.2 million in 2012. In contrast, China managed to conduct approximately $6.2 billion worth of business and had hoped to increase it to $10 billion by 2020.

China has managed to contribute 90 per cent of Mongolian exports, while South Korea, Russia, China, and Japan dominate imports. Even then, India has reasonable prospects of gaining uranium, coal, copper, and gold from Mongolia.

Conclusion

The Indo-Mongolian alliance is critical to India’s developing links with Central Asian countries regarding infrastructure development, diplomatic engagement, and resource access. Mongolia now gives visa-on-arrival to Indian visitors and business people to strengthen ties between the two countries.