Statement by the President of the Republic of India H.e. Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil to the Press at Ulaanbaatar

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media,

President Elbegdorj and I have just concluded our discussions, which were held in a warm, friendly and cordial atmosphere. My visit seeks to strengthen our relationship, building upon the momentum generated by the visit of President Elbegdorj to India in September 2009, when our ties were expanded to a Comprehensive Partnership.

I conveyed to the President that I was privileged to make this State Visit when Mongolia was commemorating the "Year of Anniversaries" including the 805th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Great Mongolian State under the leadership of the legendary Chinggis Khan and the 90th Anniversary of Mongolian Independence and Sovereignty.

I also recalled the bonds of culture, civilization and religion which bind our two countries together. I emphasized that we should reaffirm and strengthen our age-old ties in these fields, including by reviving contacts with Nalanda University, which is being rejuvenated as a regional seat of learning and excellence in particular, of Buddhist studies.

Today, it is encouraging that we also share other values such as democracy, rule of law and upholding the rights of the individual. This forms the bedrock of our bilateral cooperation.

My discussions with President Elbegdorj today were wide-ranging and covered the entire gamut of our bilateral relations as well regional and global issues of mutual interest.

I confirmed that India will extend a Line of Credit of 20 Million U.S.Dollars for the "India - Mongolia Joint Information Technology, Education and Outsourcing Center" to be established in Ulaanbaatar.

India will also upgrade and modernize the Rajiv Gandhi Art and Production School as well as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology. We will complete this work soon. Further, we have agreed to work together on a Joint India - Mongolia School.

I conveyed that the number of slots available to Mongolia under our ITEC Program will be increased to 150. The number of ICCR scholarships available to Mongolia will be increased to 50. In this way, India will assist in human resource development and capacity building efforts of Mongolia.

We have signed an Agreement of Cooperation between the Planning Commission of India and its Mongolian counterpart. There is considerable expertise on plan formulation and implementation in India. We look forward to sharing our experience in this area with Mongolia.

A bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed. May I state that India is willing and ready to expand collaboration in this sphere.

President Elbegdorj and I discussed ways to further our cooperation in the peaceful use of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy.

With a Memorandum on Media Exchanges signed between the two Governments, we can now hope to see more media persons from Mongolia in India. We will also send more Indian journalists here.

We also agreed to explore the possibilities of improving air connectivity between our two countries so as to enhance contacts between our peoples, including through tourism.

Mongolia has just taken over as the Chair of the Community of Democracies. I promised President Elbegdorj to assist in any way required in ensuring the success of his Chairmanship.

I thanked Mongolia for its support extended to India in becoming a Permanent Member of a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council.

My State Visit aims at conveying the importance India attaches to its relationship with Mongolia. Our two Governments will work together in expanding this partnership.

I thank President Elbegdorj for his very warm hospitality. I invite him to visit India soon.

Thank You.