Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh At a Joint Press Availability

MODERATOR:  (Via interpreter) Distinguished guests, representatives of the media outlets, ladies and gentlemen:  United States Secretary of State, the Honorable Antony Blinken, is paying an official visit to Mongolia at the invitation of Her Excellency Battsetseg Batmunkh, minister for foreign affairs of Mongolia.  The minister and the Secretary just held official talks and exchanged views on a wide range of topics related to Mongolia-U.S. Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership.  Now, Minister Battsetseg and Secretary Blinken will deliver statements following the outcomes of their official talks.

I am pleased to invite Minister Battsetseg to address the media.

FOREIGN MINISTER BATTSETSEG:  (Via interpreter) Dear Secretary of State Antony Blinken, dear media representatives, ladies and gentlemen:  Good afternoon to you all.  Now, I am pleased to give a brief information about the official talks that I held with Secretary Blinken.  I am thrilled that U.S. Secretary of State, the Honorable Antony Blinken, is paying an official visit to Mongolia.

Your visit is special because it occurs right after the inaugural United States-Mongolia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue that we launched in Washington, D.C. last week.  And also this is a very important visit because it is happening after the – after I have been reappointed as the foreign minister of Mongolia.  I would like to emphasize that my visit was – my visit to the United States was the first overseas trip as the foreign minister of Mongolia, and I do believe that your visit is of great significance to continue the conversation to deliver concrete results on the cooperation issues discussed during the dialogue.

The Secretary of State and I just held official talks and exchanged views on the possibilities of further consolidating the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership between Mongolia and the United States, and enhancing cooperation in all areas of mutual benefit, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.  Our conversation was productive, warm, and frank; and I am satisfied with these outcomes.  The relationship between Mongolia and the United States has actively grown throughout our 37 years of diplomatic relations since its establishment in 1987.  This is a clear testament to our two countries’ commitment to our shared values that uphold democracy, human rights, freedom, and common interests to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity.

The United States plays a leading role in Mongolia’s third neighbor policy.  In this framework, our two countries’ political relationship is further strengthening through bilateral and trilateral mechanisms, our collaboration in regional and international arenas is deepening, and now the United States has become Mongolia’s close friend and strategic partner.  I am delighted to underscore that the ties between our two countries have never been stronger.

I am content that following Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene’s visit to the United States in August 2023, we released the joint statement on the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership between Mongolia and the United States of America, which celebrated our achievements and milestones of the past, and set visions and goals for future cooperation.

On behalf of the Government of Mongolia, I would like to emphasize my eagerness to enrich the solid relations and cooperation in the spirit of our Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership even further.  The Economic Cooperation Roadmap for the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership that Secretary Blinken and I signed during our prime minister’s visit is an essential document for increasing bilateral, commercial, and economic ties, and advancing our shared goal of attracting American investments to Mongolia.

I am pleased that we are bolstering our bilateral cooperation and seeking possibilities to improve the investment climate in Mongolia, and we are pleased that many American companies are very interested to invest in Mongolia.  The Mongolian side is very content to further our cooperation investment with American companies.  Also, we have exchanged information on the investment climate improvement the government is doing during the recent years.

And as you know, Mongolian Government has made English as the secondary education language, and Secretary Blinken just informed me that the U.S. Government is committing to open an English language excellence training center in Ulaanbaatar.  It will be of great importance to train and build capacity of Mongolian English language teachers.  Also, we are content that we are making progress on launching nonstop passenger flights between our two countries, and also we’re making progress on including extending the U.S.-Mongolia Child Protection Compact Partnership, and we’re committed to holding the energy dialogue this year in Ulaanbaatar.

Mr. Secretary, we are always grateful for the successive U.S. administrations’ steadfast support in Mongolia’s transition to democracy and market economy, building an independent civil society, and improving investment climate efforts from the very beginning.  Fostering our strategic partnership is not hindered by geographical remoteness, and people‑to‑people bonds serve as an important pillar of our bilateral relations.  I want to highlight that the growing Mongolian community in the United States, the Peace Corps volunteers who have reached every corner of Mongolia, mutual assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and gracious U.S. aid during this winter’s exceptionally harsh dzud attest to the true spirit of our partnership.

I am very to happy – happy to see you, Mr. Secretary, in my country.  I have my complete confidence that your visit will serve as a crucial impetus to further strengthen and expand the Mongolia-U.S. Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership and cooperation for the prosperity of both our nations and the benefit of our two peoples.

Thank you very much.

MODERATOR:  (Via interpreter) Thank you, Minister Battsetseg.  Secretary Blinken, you have the floor.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, thank you very much.  And Foreign Minister Battsetseg, thank you so much for your incredibly warm hospitality, for the very good conversations we’ve had already today, pursuing the conversations that we had just a short while ago in Washington.  It’s great for me to be here to continue the momentum from last week’s inaugural Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue, and I think we’ve done exactly that today.

This visit to Mongolia, following stops in Laos, in Vietnam, in Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, is part of my 18th trip to the Indo-Pacific as Secretary of State.  I’m here because, as President Biden often says, so much of our shared future will be written in this region.

Throughout this trip, I’ve heard from countries across the region about the vision that we all share for a free, open, connected, secure, prosperous, resilient region.  That means, simply put, that problems will be dealt with openly; rules will be reached transparently and applied fairly; people, goods, ideas will be able to flow freely and lawfully on land, skies, cyberspace, the open seas.  And it means that people and countries will have the freedom to choose their own future.

Mongolia is a central partner in this region.  The United States and Mongolia are proud third neighbors – linked by shared democratic values, linked by common interests.  Today our two nations are partnering more closely on more issues than ever, to the benefit of our people and to the benefit of people across the region.  We’re building greater economic resilience that drives prosperity for our people.  Guided by the economic roadmap that we launched last summer, we’re strengthening supply chains, we’re reducing economic dependencies, we’re creating good jobs – that includes clean energy, where Mongolia has tremendous potential in renewables, and the digital economy, so that we can help Mongolia’s economy be more connected, more resilient, and more secure.

We’re strengthening water security through our Millenium Challenge Corporation Water Compact.  That partnership is going to increase Ulaanbaatar’s water supply by 80 percent.  That’s a game-changer for business, for industry, for the global supply chains that we’re part of.  We’re working, as the foreign minister said, to establish direct flights between our countries, building on the Open Skies agreement that we signed just last year.  That will create new opportunities for trade as well as for tourism.  And that’s essential because our people-to-people connections really are the lifeblood of this partnership.  Thousands of Mongolians have studied in the United States, including, among others, the prime minister, and I look forward to seeing him later today.

We’re committed to creating more opportunities for Mongolians to study in the United States and to learn English here in Mongolia.  As the foreign minister said, today we are announcing the U.S.-Mongolia Excellence in English initiative, which will significantly expand the number of high school students studying under our Access English program.  It will also boost the number of fellows, number of specialists supporting English teaching capacity in Mongolian universities.  We’re also launching a new Center of Excellence for English language teaching at the National University of Mongolia.  This will further raise standards for local English language teaching.  And we’re partnering with the United Kingdom, with Australia, with Canada, as well as with Google and Teach for Mongolia, to set up the center, which will be run by Mongolians with our collective support.

The United States and Mongolia are also working together closely on shared regional and global challenges.  That includes the DPRK’s missile launches.  The United States appreciates Mongolia’s willingness to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.  And both of us stand up for the principles at the heart of the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence.  I made clear that the United States would continue to support Mongolia’s ability to import critical commodities in the short term and diversify its energy sources over the long term.

Finally, we’re working together both to uphold and promote our shared values.  Thirty-five years ago, Mongolians went to the polls, voted for democracy.  The United States stands as a partner in upholding and advancing our shared values.  We’re expanding our joint efforts to strengthen good governance and rule of law to fight corruption, to uphold fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to practice one’s own religion.  We’re also partnering to protect the most vulnerable, including child victims of trafficking and forced labor.  Today we’re announcing an additional $1 million over the next year to support this work through the Child Protection Compact.  Virtually every day, this relationship, this partnership between the United States and Mongolia is reaching new levels.  Soon, we’ll break ground on a state-of-the-art new U.S. embassy compound worthy of our ambitious vision for our partnership and of the American and Mongolian people who are working every day to make that vision a reality.

Thank you.

MODERATOR:  (In Mongolian.)

QUESTION:  Welcome, Mr. Secretary of State Blinken.  Mongolia is one of the main partners of the United States in Asia.  Currently, Mongolia and U.S. are communicating at the level of Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership.  The support from third neighboring country is – countries is important for Mongolia to increase its energy security and economic stability.  What real support of investment and technological assistance will the United States offer to increase Mongolia’s energy security and economic stability?  What is the position of the U.S. Government in this regard?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you very much.  I think we’re seeing that partnership, that relationship move forward every single day.  Just in the last few years, we’re seeing increasing economic connections, economic support, economic investment coming from the United States here in Mongolia in ways that are helping Mongolia develop key sectors, build resiliency in those sectors of the economy, create more opportunity and more jobs for Mongolians.  And what we talked about today was how do we take this to the next level.  I think there are tremendous potential and opportunity, particularly in the energy sector, for renewables, critical minerals.

And what we talked about today was how do we even more to strengthen the investment climate, because when the United States is engaged, it’s typically through our private sector.  The government supports that work.  We work with – closely with the private sector.  We work closely with other governments.  But fundamentally, these are decisions that the private sector makes about investments, and we want to make sure that the investment climate is as strong as it possibly can be here to attract all that investment with transparency, with the rule of law, with the kind of support that the private sector needs.

I’m convinced, based on what I know and see all around the world, that when the United States is engaged, when we’re investing, we’re doing it as a race to the top; investing in ways that meet the needs and the priorities of partner countries, of local communities; doing it in a way that, when it comes to anything involving manufacturing, that upholds the rights of workers, that make sure that we’re protecting the environment.  We don’t pile debt on countries as they’re working to strengthen their economies, and I think that creates outcomes that are beneficial to everyone.  So what we’re looking to do now is to look at how, again, we can raise that to the next level.  We’re working closely with the Mongolian Government on this.  I look forward to pursuing that conversation later today as well with the prime minister and the president, and I see tremendous potential ahead building on what we’ve already done.

Separate from that, I think what’s so important is for us to be doing everything we can to build – help build the capacity of Mongolia to reach its full potential as an economy and as a country engaged with the world.  And so for example, some of the technical support programs that we’re engaged in, they do that.  We just talked a lot about the – building English language capacity.  When the foreign minister was in Washington just a little over a week ago, one of the things that she highlighted to me was the strong support for those programs here in Mongolia and the desire to do more.  And just in the space of a week, we have looked at what we can do to expand our English language capacity building and programs here in Mongolia.

The reason this is so important is that in this moment in history, this moment in time, the English language is the international currency for business transactions, for engagement with the world.  And countries that have more and more people with that fluency, they’ll be able to fully engage in business, in trade, as well as in many other things that are really beneficial to those countries.  So we’re very proud to be able to work hand in hand with Mongolia on this.  I’m looking forward later today to actually meeting with some people who participated in these English language programs.

MODERATOR:  (Via interpreter) Thank you very much.  Can I now call Edward Wong of The New York Times?

QUESTION:  Hi.  Thank you very much.  First, for Secretary Blinken, when you talk about being a third neighbor of Mongolia, you’re clearly referring to both Russia and China, which are the main rivals of the U.S. as well as perhaps adversaries.  You and President Biden say you’re not trying to suppress or contain China’s rise.  But let’s pretend we’re sitting in Beijing looking at the range of U.S. policies and actions.  We have a U.S. military buildup in the region, U.S. efforts to continue strengthening its military alliances, of which the current trip is a part of.  We have President Biden continuing Trump-era tariffs, which are inflationary for the U.S. customer and consumer.  And we also have recent export control policies on advanced technology.

And you add to that President Biden’s framing of his foreign policy is democracies versus autocracies.  So given all that, are you able to present any convincing arguments to Chinese leaders and policymakers that you’re not trying to contain or suppress China’s rise?  And separate but related, five years from now what is the modus vivendi that you would like to see exist between the U.S. and China?  You’re clearly groping for some modus vivendi between the two nations.

And for Madam Foreign Minister, this is my fourth trip to Mongolia.  It’s been 16 years since I was last here.  And when I look around Ulaanbaatar, there’s clearly been a lot of economic growth.  Both China and Russia are clearly large trade partners of Mongolia.  On our trip across Asia with the Secretary, we’ve heard some Asian officials say the U.S. has to do more to enhance its commercial opportunities and ties with your nations.  Do you feel the U.S. is on a route to enhance its commercial ties in a sufficient manner with Mongolia?

Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Ed, thank you very much.  And just very quickly on the last point that you addressed to the foreign minister, one of the things I noted throughout this trip on our previous stops – and this is particularly true with regards to the ASEAN countries – trade is usually important.  And we are a trading nation and all these countries are too, and we’ll always look for ways to enhance trade, and particularly with a focus on one of the critical elements of trade in the 21st century, the digital economy, is for all of us a growing part of our economies.  And one of the things that we’re doing through IPEF, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, is to look at ways to enhance digital trade.

But the other side of the coin is also hugely important and sometimes gets overlooked, and that’s foreign direct investment.  I noted on this trip that throughout the ASEAN countries, the United States is the largest provider by far of foreign direct investment.  And similarly, we happen to be, in the United States, the largest recipient around the world of foreign direct investment.  That’s a very powerful thing because it really is evidence of trust between countries as well as between private sectors.  It’s evidence of optimism and confidence about the future, because you don’t make investments unless you’re optimistic about where they’ll lead in the future.

And to me, that shows both the strength of our engagement throughout the region in ways that are benefitting people in the region and it shows the strength of the United States in this moment, of our economy, and confidence that countries, investors around the world have in the United States.  So I’m – I know you didn’t address that to me, but I did want to address it myself.

With regard to China, to the region, first, our focus is on a shared affirmative vision for the region: not about China but about the many countries that we’re working with who have this shared vision.  And as I said, it’s a vision for an open, for a connected, for a free, for a prosperous, for a resilient region.  And the relationships that we have – yes, there are military components to many of them, but that is only one part of the story.

And fundamentally we’re about doing everything we can together to enhance opportunity for people in the United States and people in these countries, to find ways to grow our economies, to make sure that we’re all building in resilience because we’ve seen – particularly in recent years – some of the vulnerabilities that we all have – for example, with supply chains.  And in each of these areas, this is not against any one country; it’s for a common vision that we share for what the future should look like.  And yes, part of that common vision is clearly the freedom to – for every country to make its own decisions, to make its own choices about the future.  And we stand strongly and always will for that proposition.

When it comes to China – and I, as you know, spent – I think it’s my sixth meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi just since a year ago in June – and many phone conversations as well – and we take very seriously the need to manage the relationship between the United States and China responsibly, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.  And as I’ve said many times before, it’s impossible to sum up what is one of the most complicated and consequential relationships on a bumper sticker.

There are clearly aspects of competition in the relationship, and this – from our perspective, competition is a good thing as long as its – as long as it’s fair, as long as it’s on a level playing field.  There are aspects of contestation where we have real differences, and we’re, as necessary, going to contest them.  And there are aspects of cooperation, because as two of the leading countries in the world, there are going to be and there have to be areas where we cooperate when it’s in the mutual interest of our people.  And I think we’ve demonstrated that.

So the modus vivendi is something that I think we’re putting into play, into practice right now.  It’s making sure that we’re engaged on all those levels, in all of those dimensions.  For the United States, it’s also about doing it from the position of strength and confidence, and that’s something we’ve been able to do in the last three and a half years in two ways.  One, we have made historic investments in ourselves.  President Biden through the infrastructure bill, through the CHIPS and Science Act, through the Inflation Reduction Act – these are investments that are resonating around the world because people see that we’re serious about our future, serious about our competitiveness, and that’s a tremendous source of strength.

And similarly, for my part, I’m very focused on making sure that we’re working closely with other countries that have a shared vision and a desire to work together to try to realize that vision.  Our alliances, our partnerships – both existing ones and new ones – are stronger and better than they’ve ever been.  But again, that’s for an affirmative purpose, not a negative purpose.  And I think that we have a – as you put it, a modus vivendi, and we’re looking to strengthen that every day.

FOREIGN MINISTER BATTSETSEG:  (Via interpreter) Thank you very much for the question.  Mongolia enjoys comprehensive strategic partnerships with both our nations – both our immediate neighbors, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.  And now we’re – and now we are pursuing our third neighbor policy very actively in the recent years; especially we want to expand and enrich our economic cooperation with our third neighbors; especially we seek to foster mutually beneficial cooperation; as well as we are interested to seek integration processes in the region.  And also many Mongolian youth and students are studying in the United States.  They are learning from the technological advancements and great developments in the United States.

And just now with the Secretary of State, we have discussed concrete issues of bilateral cooperation and attract investment from the United States within the framework of the Economic Cooperation Roadmap we signed in August 2023.  American investment is important for Mongolia, so we are eager cooperate to attract more investment from the United States in a short period of time.

And Mongolia is fostering friendly relations with all members of the United Nations.  We have established diplomatic relations with all the members of the UN, and we pursue open, peace-oriented, independent, multi-pillar foreign policy.  And I would like to emphasize that the United States has been extending steadfast support from the very beginning from our democratic transition and – democratic transition to a market economy.  And I would like to emphasize their support was crucial in fostering mutually beneficial cooperation.  Thank you very much.

MODERATOR:  (Via interpreter) Thank you.  Excuse me, dear media representatives, we have a short time left until the next meeting, so I would like to now a call on The Washington Post’s Michael Birnbaum.

QUESTION:  Thanks very much.  Secretary Blinken – is this on?

STAFF:  Yes.

QUESTION:  I have a question about the Mid East.  You just met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington.  He didn’t tell you, it seems, about a Tehran assassination plan.  Critics say that Iran has been stringing you – Israel has been stringing you along on the ceasefire.  So my question is:  Does Israel need to contain – constrain itself on actions that might draw in the United States militarily if it wants continued support from the U.S., or do they have a blank check from you?  And I also wanted to ask:  How does the Tehron assassination affect the effort to reach a ceasefire?  Can you tell us specifically what you’re trying to do to salvage those ceasefire negotiations?

And for Madam Foreign Minister, I know that you’re working to find more neighbors, third neighbors, but if you look at a map, Russia and China are right next to you.  They’re always going to be right next to you.  What assurances was the Secretary able to give you today that the United States is going to be as interested in Mongolia in five years or ten years when it’s not working as potentially aggressively to try to deal with Russia, China, their connection?  I mean, how do you know the United States is in it for the long term with you?  Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Michael, thank you.  With regard to the Middle East, right now the path that the region is on is toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity.  And it is crucial that we break the cycle, and that starts with a ceasefire that we’ve been working on and I believe is not only achievable; it has to be achieved.  And then building on that ceasefire to have an end to the conflict in Gaza, to produce calm in the north between Israel and Lebanon, and then to work on broader, more enduring peace and security.

But it all starts with a ceasefire, and to get there it also first requires all parties to stop taking any escalatory actions.  It also requires them to find reasons to come to an agreement, not to look for reasons to delay or say no to the agreement.  And it’s urgent that all parties make the right choices in the days ahead, because those choices are the difference between staying on this path of violence, of insecurity, of suffering, or moving to something very different and much better for all parties concerned.

Now, again, I can’t predict the effect, the impact of any one event on what comes next.  I’ve learned over many years not to do that.  But I think it remains manifestly the case that a ceasefire is in the interests of everyone.  It’s in the interests of Israelis; it’s in the interests of Palestinians.  It’s in the interests of the region.  So as long as everyone is focused on what their core interests actually are, I believe that not only will we keep working to reach a deal; we will reach a deal because it is simply imperative that we do so.

And I have been very focused over the last 24 hours in engaging my own colleagues throughout the region.  We’re obviously here in the Indo-Pacific, but thanks to modern technology we’re on the phones constantly, and we’re all focused on making sure we can get the ceasefire over the finish line and building on it for everyone’s sake for the future.

FOREIGN MINISTER BATTSETSEG:  (Via interpreter) I will be very brief because we have little time left.  Mongolia is committed to ensuring stability, security in Northeast Asia as well as in the world.  We have many initiatives, and the United States has been very supportive of our – of those initiatives.  I would like to emphasize the Ulaanbaatar dialogue that we have initiated, and Secretary Blinken also emphasized that the United States will continue to support those initiative of Mongolia.

And major freedom and human rights issue as well as the strengthening of democracy in Mongolia is very important in our bilateral cooperation, and the United States has been committed to supporting our efforts in this regard.  We don’t have any civil wars and internal domestic – and issues, and Mongolia is committed to further contributing to ensure stability and security in this region as well as in the world.  So the United States will continue supporting our efforts in this regard.

And also we have discussed issues on cooperation within the framework of our development programs, especially our long-term development policy, and the United States will help us to – and assist us to – in all possible ways to become – for Mongolia to become a developed country.

MODERATOR:  (Via interpreter) Thank you very much.  Now the joint press availability has concluded.  Thank you.