Xi made the remark while meeting with Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Battulga is on a five-day visit to China that started on Wednesday. He also is attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

With the two presidents as witnesses, China and Mongolia signed cooperation documents to connect the Belt and Road Initiative with the Mongolia-proposed Path of Development Initiative. Xi hosted a ceremony to welcome Battulga before their talks.

Hailing Mongolia as a good neighbor, friend and partner of China, Xi said that the bilateral relationship has entered a fast track.

China will continue to support Mongolia's efforts to promote economic development and improve the people's livelihood, Xi said.

The two countries should uphold the right political direction, push forward cooperation in all areas and become each other's strategic partner with mutual respect and trust, he said.

Xi said the two countries should maintain high-level exchanges and respect each other's core interests and major concerns.

He also called for greater effort to advance practical cooperation in jointly building the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

China and Mongolia should streamline their trading structure and explore their cooperation potential, Xi said, adding that the two countries should enhance border exchanges and jointly build a prosperous border to facilitate trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries should enhance communication and coordination in global and regional affairs and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, Xi said.

Battulga reaffirmed Mongolia's commitment to the one-China policy, saying that Taiwan and Tibet are China's territory and matters related to Taiwan and Tibet are China's domestic affairs.

It's a priority of Mongolia's diplomacy to develop a long-term friendly neighborhood and enhance cooperation with China, he said.

Mongolia would like to work with China to draw a blueprint for bilateral relations and connect the Path of Development Initiative with the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

The two countries should enhance cooperation in such areas as trade, electricity, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction and airlines, he said.

Mongolia appreciates China's role in maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, Battulga said, adding that Mongolia would like to enhance coordination with China on regional affairs.

"We confirm our aspiration to make utmost use of the existing potential for deeper military and military-technical cooperation," Shoigu said at talks with Mongolian counterpart Nyamaagiin Enkhbold on Wednesday.

"We hope that Mongolia will be broadly represented at events organized by the Russian Defense Ministry in 2019," he said.

Mongolia is grateful to Russia for its military-technical assistance and hopes for more positive boost to further cooperation with Moscow, Enkhbold said for his part.

"Our country attaches particular importance with relations with Russia. The Mongolian prime minister is expected to pay a visit to Russia this year. I am sure it will lend new impetus to the development of bilateral relations. I am especially hopeful that the visit will be of significant importance for our military and military-technical cooperation," Enkhbold said.

"The training on disaster preparedness is the biggest such exercise in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator in 29 years," Enkhbat Enerelbuyan, foreign affairs officer of the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told Xinhua.

"This training is being organized to improve the preparedness of all public and private entities in Ulan Bator in order to mitigate damages from possible natural disasters and to improve public awareness of disaster preparedness and response," she said.

"Around half a million people across Mongolia's capital gathered Thursday at a total of 111 temporary gathering sites and received information how to protect themselves and their family members and how to give first aid care during an earthquake," she noted.

In addition, more than 3,000 residents of the city took part in an earthquake evacuation drill, she added.

All households in the city have been provided with emergency preparedness handouts, the NEMA said in a statement.

The three-day preparedness training starting Wednesday includes emergency evacuation drills, workshops on how to protect oneself and one's family and how to send accurate information to the public during a destructive earthquake.

Mongolia has seen a significant increase in earthquakes in recent years, according to the country's government press office.

A total of 261 earthquakes were recorded across the country in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 70 from the same period last year. Enditem

During the meeting, the United States and Mongolia welcomed the 31st anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Mongolia and took note of the Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership, which they endorsed in September 2018. They also highlighted the positive role that TIFA discussions can play in supporting Mongolia’s efforts to develop a prosperous market-based economy.

The United States and Mongolia also discussed a range of bilateral trade and investment issues. Key issues included transparency, the investment climate, intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, trade in cashmere, the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), trade facilitation, and trade promotion.

Mongolia will host the next meeting of the TIFA Council in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Background

Total bilateral trade in goods was $131 million in 2018. U.S. goods exports to Mongolia in 2018 were $121 million, up 47.1% ($39 million) from 2017 and up 111.2% from 2008. Imports of goods from Mongolia were $10 million in 2018. U. S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mongolia was $147 million in 2017, a 63.3% increase from 2016.

The decision will cover Emirati citizens carrying all types of passports who are travelling to Mongolia, and grant them a maximum stay of 30 days upon their entry.

Ahmad Sari Al Mazroui, Undersecretary for Consular Affairs at the ministry, said that the decision reflects the strong relations between the two countries, and will promote tourism and create new business, trade and investment opportunities.

He added that the UAE’s citizens are prioritised by the country’s leadership, which is working to achieve their happiness, while noting that Mongolia’s decision reflects the UAE’s international stature, as well as the keenness of the Mongolian government to consolidate its overall relations with the UAE government.

Mongolia’s decision is the result of the ministry’s consular efforts to strengthen the UAE’s international stature and offer the best services to Emirati citizens during their travels, as well as to promote cooperation in the areas of tourism, business and investment with friendly countries, noted Al Mazroui.

"Mongolia's economic outlook remains favorable. The country's economic growth is expected to strengthen to 7.2 percent in 2019," Jean-Pascal N. Nganou, World Bank senior economist for Mongolia, told a press conference here on release of the April 2019 edition of the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update.

He noted that implementation of large infrastructure projects, stabilization of foreign direct investment flows, and exports growth will be key drivers for the resource-rich country's economic growth this year.

Mongolia's economic growth is projected to soften to 6.9 percent in 2020 and 6.5 percent in 2021 due to some domestic risks, according to the World Bank.

The Asian country's economy is heavily dependent on the mining industry, which contributes to about a quarter of the country's GDP and around 90 percent of its exports.

In this regard, Premier of the State Council of China Li Keqiang paid a courtesy call on President Battulga today in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

At the beginning of the meeting, Premier Li Keqiang underlined how China has attached great importance to the development of friendly relations with Mongolia and said, “This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mongolia and the 25th anniversary of the renewal of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation, and it is a new opportunity for us to advance bilateral cooperation.”

For his part, President Battulga said, “My state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping holds special significance as this year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China and the 25th anniversary of the renewal of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation. I am pleased to attend the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. I express my gratitude towards the warm welcome.”

President Battulga will hold official talks with President Xi Jinping tomorrow.

On 18 April, the Criminal Police Department questioned Justice Minister Ts.Nyamdorj over his statement regarding the much-publicised murder case of the politician S.Zorig, who one of the heroes of Mongolia’s peaceful transition to democracy and a likely future prime-minister. In his statement in March, which shook the nation, the Justice Minister publically apologised on behalf of the Mongolian government that torture had been used to extract a confession. Ts.Nyamdorj said that two officers from the General Intelligence Agency (GIA) were under investigation for having used torture to obtain a confession.

The murder of S.Zorig case was transferred to the Criminal Police Department from Independent Authority of Anti-Corruption due to the lack of human resources on 19 March. The lack of human resources has been cited as a region.

Following an investigation lasting two decades – in which there have been accusations of cover-ups and during which numerous people, including the victim’s wife, have been detained – Ts.Amgalanbaatar and two others were sentenced to 24-25 years in prison for the murder of S.Zorig.

B.Khurts, is a highly controversial figure. For many years he ran the GIA, which has been criticized for not releasing files related to the case. In September he flew to London to attend a conference, but was arrested upon arrival under a European Arrest Warrant and held in Wandsworth Prison. The intelligence chief’s arrest was a low point in UK-Mongolian relations and sparked demonstrations in Ulaanbaatar; London was accursed of ‘luring’ B.Khurts to the UK in order to have him arrested. Previously, B.Khurts had led an operation to ‘return’ Enkhbat Damiran to Mongolia. A covert operation was mounted and E.Damiran was seized in a restaurant in La Havre, and taken to the Mongolian Embassy in Germany where he was drugged and put on a direct flight to Ulaanbaatar. Upon arrival, the dissident was, allegedly, tortured to confess the murder of S.Zorig, but died in custody. After being held in the UK, B.Khurts was extradited to Germany where the ‘abduction’ case was studied, however, in September 2011, prior to a visit to Mongolia by Angela Merkel, he was released.

Khurelsukh made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a comprehensive training on disaster preparedness and response in its capital city Ulan Bator.

"Mongolia is organizing the largest training of its kind in Ulan Bator for the first time in almost 30 years. A disaster is a calamitous event that occurs over a relatively short time and seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses," said Khurelsukh.

Therefore, Mongolia will spend a minimum of 1 percent of its state budget on disaster preparedness every year, he said.

This training aims to improve the preparedness of all public and private entities in Ulan Bator in order to mitigate damages from future disasters and to improve public awareness of disaster preparedness and response, the prime minister said.

Mongolia has seen a significant increase in earthquakes in recent years, according to the country's government press office. The Asian country has experienced around 260,000 earthquakes over the past 10 years, the office said in a statement.

A total of 261 earthquakes were recorded across the country in the first quarter of 2019, which is an increase of 70 from the same period last year.

The three-day training includes emergency evacuation drills, workshops on how to protect oneself and one's family and how to send accurate information to the public during a destructive earthquake, the country's National Emergency Management Agency said.

All residents and organizations of Ulan Bator must participate in the training, said the agency. Enditem