President of Mongolia in Finland

President of Mongolia Tsakhia Elbegdorj and President of the Republic Tarja Halonen. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

 “We are just now, with this handshake, making history,” said President of the Republic Tarja Halonen when greeting President of Mongolia Tsakhia Elbegdorj in the Yellow Room of the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, 6 October 2010. The working visit was the first visit at this level between Finland and Mongolia.

“We see a lot of possibilities to strengthen our bilateral relations, but also opportunities for the partnership at international level,” President Halonen said after the talks at the press conference of the visit. The countries already engage in cooperation in the field of geology. President Halonen also saw opportunities for growth in agriculture and forestry, high technology and particularly green technology, as well as in the renewable energy sector and mining. “Our men and women have also worked together in crisis management,” the President recalled.

According to President Elbegdorj, the gross domestic product of Mongolia is expected to increase by up to 20 per cent annually, bolstered by the mining industry in particular. “Mongolia is going to be one of the hottest spots in mining development in the world.” The country has rich deposits of copper, gold and uranium. President Elbegdorj pointed out that Mongolia is also the second largest exporter of cashmere products in the world.

Weather, rail gauge and geography

The Presidents also discovered similarities between Finland and Mongolia concerning rail gauge, geography and weather conditions. Both countries enjoy an authentic winter season and are neighbours of major powers. And, as President Elbegdorj pointed out, having the same rail gauge means that the rail journey from Mongolia to Finland takes just two weeks.

During his two-day working visit President Elbegdorj also met the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sirkka-Liisa Anttila.

The programme of the visit also included a seminar on the economic relationships between Mongolia and Finland along with corporate visits and tours of FINCENT, the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre, as well as of the Geological Survey of Finland, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, and the Nordic Investment Bank.

The official delegation of President Elbegdorj was accompanied by a 30-strong corporate delegation.

Prior to his three-day visit to Finland President Elbegdorj participated in the ASEM 8 Summit in Brussels, and from Finland he continued to Copenhagen.

• Video recording of the visit and the joint press conference