President calls for Mongolian legislative, government support for summit follow-up

President Lee Jae Myung talks with Sandag Byambatsogt, chairman of the State Great Khural, Mongolia's parliament, during their meeting at a hotel in Ulaanbaatar, Friday. Yonhap

ULAANBAATAR — President Lee Jae Myung called for follow-up support from Mongolia's legislature and government as he met the country's parliamentary speaker and prime minister in Ulaanbaatar, Friday, a day after holding a summit with Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa.

Lee held separate talks with Sandag Byambatsogt, chairman of the State Great Khural, Mongolia's parliament, and Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral, after the two presidents agreed to strengthen the countries' complementary partnership during Thursday's summit.

The summit took place on the first day of Lee's state visit, which runs through Saturday.

"I hope that yesterday's summit will serve as a turning point for building an even deeper and stronger relationship between Korea and Mongolia, and in that regard, the role of the legislature is especially important," Lee said during his meeting with Byambatsogt.

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral before their meeting at a hotel in Ulaanbaatar, Friday. Yonhap

Meeting with Uchral, Lee expressed hope that the prime minister "will closely follow up on the various agenda items agreed upon yesterday," noting that he oversees the government's “day-to-day affairs.”

The president emphasized in particular cooperation in critical minerals — a key topic at Thursday's summit — as well as defense, innovation and other economic sectors.

Byambatsogt thanked Lee for becoming the first Korean president to pay a state visit to Mongolia in 15 years, saying it "marks a highly significant milestone in opening a golden era in relations between our two countries."

The speaker was referring to the "golden era" declared by Lee and Khurelsukh in their joint declaration outlining a shared vision for the future of bilateral relations.

Byambatsogt said the two countries have "steadily and dynamically expanded cooperation" across a wide range of fields since establishing diplomatic relations in 1990.

As an example of the close relationship, he noted that about 60,000 Mongolian nationals currently reside in Korea, making it home to the largest overseas Mongolian community.

He also highlighted health care cooperation, explaining that many Mongolians travel to Korea to receive what he described as "high-quality" medical services.

Byambatsogt further cited progress on Mongolia's second national cancer center as "one of the meaningful outcomes" of Lee's visit.

Uchral likewise pointed to the roughly 60,000 Mongolians living in Korea as evidence of the close people-to-people ties between the two countries.

He explained that Mongolia has 21 aimags, or provincial-level administrative regions, and that with about 60,000 Mongolians living in Korea — roughly the population of one aimag — the country is often referred to as Mongolia's "22nd aimag."

“That shows just how active people-to-people exchanges between our two countries have become," Uchral said.

The prime minister also welcomed the signing of more than 20 agreements and other documents between the two governments and institutions during the state visit.

"I will instruct the relevant ministers to ensure that the matters discussed and agreed upon by our two leaders at the summit are faithfully implemented and produce tangible results," he said.