PHL, Mongolia to deepen trade ties

THE Philippines and Mongolia pledged to strengthen their trade and investment ties on Monday, reaffirming their need to expand economic cooperation to harness their resource-rich economies.

In a joint statement, Manila and Ulaanbaatar said they reaffirmed their commitments to improve private sector collaboration between their nations while also advancing their trade cooperation by expanding trade volume and promoting market access.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunk in Manila, during which they exchanged diplomatic notes, including talks for a pilot program allowing Mongolians to study English in the Philippines.

“Noting that the Philippines and Mongolia are two of the world’s fastest growing economies, the Secretary and the Minister noted that the two resource-rich economies would further benefit from pursuing trade and investment synergies for expanded economic cooperation.

Ms. Battsetseg’s visit to the Philippines marks the first official visit by a Mongolian foreign minister to the country since 1984.

In a separate statement, Mr. Manalo said that he and Mongolia’s top envoy reaffirmed a “shared interest” in upholding a rules-based international order amid “evolving” developments in the Indo-Pacific region.

“As indicated in our joint statement, Foreign Minister Battsetseg and I emphasized the importance of adherence to the United Nations Charter and reaffirmed our commitment to the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes,” he said.

“We also reaffirmed our commitment to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, and to our shared vision of a world free of nuclear weapons,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio