3rd Japan-Mongolia Government and Business Sector Joint Committee

3rd Japan-Mongolia Government and Business Sector Joint Committee for Trade and Investment Promotion and

3rd Japan-Mongolia Joint Public and Private Sector Committee on Mineral Resources meetings

эх сурвалж http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/data/20091217_01.html

The third meeting of the Japan-Mongolia Government and Business Sector Joint Committee for Trade and Investment Promotion was held in Tokyo on December 17 with the attendance of about 120 people, including government officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other related ministries, as well as business people from both countries. At the meeting, which started with opening remarks by METI Minister Masayuki Naoshima and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Gombojav Zandanshatar, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen their private business-based economic relations.

The third meeting of the Japan-Mongolia Joint Public and Private Sector Committee on Mineral Resources was also held to address coal and other mineral resource issues. Relevant people of the two countries’ public and private sectors gathered to discuss measures for future cooperation on the development of mineral resources.

I. 3rd meeting of the Japan-Mongolia Government and Business Sector Joint Committee for Trade and Investment Promotion

1. Background

In 2007, the leaders of Japan and Mongolia announced a joint statement and the “Japan-Mongolia Basic Action Plan for the Next 10 Years.” In these documents, the two leaders agreed that “for the purpose of enhancing trade and investment and strengthening their partnership, the two countries will upgrade the status of the regular meeting between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the then Mongolian Ministry of Industry and Commerce, which was held in June the year before last, to a joint public and private sector committee by adding private enterprises as participants.” The third meeting took place in line with this agreement. The joint press release issued at the time of the Japan-Mongolia summit meeting in July 2009 states that “both sides shared the importance of efforts to create a necessary environment for enhancing economic exchange between Japanese and Mongolian companies in areas including investment and trade, by actively capitalizing on opportunities, such as joint public and private sector committee meetings.”

2. Background and Purpose

The Japan-Mongolia economic relationship has focused on ODA-based economic cooperation. However, both sides have increasing interest in strengthening business-based economic relationships with the participation of private enterprises of the two countries, because the rich mineral resources of Mongolia have begun attracting international attention. In the light of these heightened expectations, relevant people of the public and private sectors of the two countries met at the third meeting of the Japan-Mongolia Joint Public and Private Sector Committee on Trade and Investment to exchange views on a concrete approach to cooperation in areas such as industrial development, development and improvement of the investment environment, and promotion of trade in Mongolia and business partnerships between Japanese and Mongolian enterprises.

3. Participants

(1) Chair from the Japanese side
(Public sector) Mr. Keisuke Sadamori, Deputy Director-General for Trade Policy, METI
(Private Sector) Mr. Uichiro Niwa, Japan-Mongolia Economic Committee President

Chairperson from the Mongolian side
(Public sector) Director-General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade
(Private Sector) Chairman of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency

(2) Participants
Japanese side: About 60 participants from METI, other relevant ministries and agencies, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), Japan Association for Trade with Russia & NIS, and private enterprises such as general trading companies, resource development-related industry, the IT industry, and financial institutions.
Mongolian side: About 60 participants from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, other relevant ministries and agencies, the Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency, and private enterprises such as banks, and trading, communications and IT companies.

4. Summary of the meeting

(1) Efforts toward concluding an EPA
The Mongolian side asked about the possibility of an EPA between the two countries. In response, the Japanese side pointed out the need to consider launching joint public and private research in such an EPA and proposed, as a step toward it, inter-governmental working-level talks for identifying potential economic benefits of the EPA to Japan and Mongolia. Both sides agreed on this proposal.

(2) Improvement of the investment environment in Mongolia
Private sector participants from Japan made proposals for improving the investment environment in Mongolia by means of infrastructure development, improvement of the legal system and so forth. The Mongolian side responded to each of the proposals.
Both sides followed up last year’s meeting by exchanging view on issues discussed then.

(3) Proposals for and presentations on cooperation projects
The Mongolian side made presentations on projects such as new railroad construction in the mineral resource development area and an oil refinery construction plan in Darxan.
The Japanese side made presentations on cooperation projects, such as METI’s cooperation for nurturing IT human resources and the Japan External Trade Organization’s Mongolian cooperation projects. The Japan International Cooperation Agency also explained trade and investment opportunities in Mongolia for Japanese companies.
Both sides also discussed inter-governmental cooperation on human resource development under the memorandum of cooperation in the nuclear power field signed by both countries in July 2009.

II. Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Zandanshatar’s courtesy visit to Minister Naoshima

Prior to the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Zandanshatar paid a courtesy visit to METI Minister Naoshima.
On this occasion, Minister Naoshima expressed his willingness to consider launching joint public and private research in a Japan-Mongolia EPA, while mentioning the EPA-related support METI has provided to date, such as dispatching EPA experts. He proposed inter-governmental working-level talks to identify potential economic benefits of a Japan-Mongolia EPA. Both ministers agreed on this proposal.

III. 3rd meeting of the Japan-Mongolia Joint Public and Private Sector Committee on Mineral Resources

The Japan-Mongolia Joint Public and Private Sector Committee on Mineral Resources, a separate conference established specifically for mineral resource development, met on December 16.

About 120 government and private-sector representatives gathered from both countries, including Mr. Masaaki Kimura, Director-General of the Natural Resources and Fuel Department, METI (from the Japanese government), and Mr. Yoichi Kobayashi, Senior Managing Director of Itochu Corporation (from the Japanese private sector), Mr. Baldanjav Ariunsan, Deputy Minister for Minerals and Energy (from the Mongolian government), and Mr. Badamdamdin, President of MonAtom corporation (from the Mongolian private sector). The Mongolian side explained Mongolia’s minerals and energy laws and plans to develop the Oyu Tolgoi mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. Both sides discussed the possibility of bilateral cooperation across the public and private sectors in the development of mineral resources. They also agreed that the next meeting would be held in Mongolia in 2010.

Release Date

December 17, 2009

Division in Charge

-Northeast Asia Division, Trade Policy Bureau
-Coal Division, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy