[1/5]U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai at her ceremonial workplace, within the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm
Aug 2 (Reuters) – The United States and Mongolia will sign an “Open Skies” civil aviation settlement, Vice President Kamala Harris and Mongolian Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene stated on Wednesday initially of discussions targeted on Russia, China and financial improvement.
Their assembly in Washington on Wednesday got here because the Biden administration works to ease tensions with strategic competitor China and as U.S. relations with Russia present no sign of thawing because the Ukraine conflict grinds on.
Harris underscored the administration’s dedication to strengthening ties with Mongolia and different nations within the Indo-Pacific, with an enormous deal with combating the local weather disaster, upholding democracies and human rights, and addressing threats to the worldwide rules-based order.
“The American people have a profound stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific,” Harris stated, noting that she and President Joe Biden had every traveled there 3 times since taking workplace. “It is in our vital interest to promote an Indo-Pacific region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient.”
Surrounded by Russia within the north and China within the south, Mongolia has cultivated allies — similar to Japan, South Korea and the United States — in a diplomatic technique aimed toward reinforcing its political independence, however its financial system has continued to rely closely on its two big neighbors.
Washington has Open Skies civil aviation agreements with greater than 130 international locations. They grant airways from each international locations the appropriate to function in one another’s international locations, liberalize airline regulation and impose security and safety requirements.
The Open Skies deal between the U.S. and Mongolia will construct on a memorandum of understanding for an air transport settlement reached in January.
Mongolia’s nationwide service, MIAT Mongolian Airlines, flies to Europe and Asia however not the United States at current. Although passenger demand might not advantage nonstop flights between the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, and the U.S., the Open Skies deal would additionally present simpler choices for cargo flights between the nations.
The new deal comes alongside new cultural trade initiatives, in addition to English-language coaching in Mongolia after current laws making English the primary international language in secondary schooling within the nation.
Each deal is supposed to give the landlocked Asian nation a Washington-backed various for financial improvement, the place corruption has lengthy deterred international funding.
Resource-rich Mongolia has in depth deposits of uncommon earth minerals and copper, that are important supplies in brief provide as Biden appears to be like to electrify the home auto market.
Oyun-Erdene, who studied within the United States, stated the 2 international locations would additionally sign agreements to deepen cooperation in outer area and strengthen their financial cooperation, with a watch to increasing commerce.
He stated direct flights between the 2 international locations would start within the second quarter of 2024, providing a “great opportunity” to promote commerce, tourism, enterprise and funding.
“I hope that history will record my visit this week as the start of a new chapter in our friendship and the strategic partnership,” he stated.
Mongolia has been in talks with Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk over potential funding and cooperation within the electrical automobile sector. Musk’s SpaceX has additionally been approved to function as an web supplier within the nation.
Oyun-Erdene, who can also be slated to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and different high Biden administration officers, stated Mongolia would additionally sign a landmark digital cooperation settlement with Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google this week, however gave no particulars.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Birmingham, Alabama, and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jamie Freed, Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler
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