Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Kuwait to Mongolia Mohammad Faisal Al-Mutairi shared his impressions and experiences of working in Mongolia. The Ambassador mentioned that his term of assignment in Mongolia is coming to an end, and expressed confidence that the foundation of relations and cooperation between the two countries, established over the past six years, will continue to strengthen and develop.

I was appointed as my country's ambassador to work in the friendly country of Mongolia in October 2018. I worked in this country for 6 years, and I really enjoy the beautiful nature of Mongolia, its ancient historical heritage, and culture, and the warmth and hospitality of the Mongolian people. At first, I faced some difficulties adapting to the harsh Siberian winter in Mongolia, known for its extreme cold. I believe that Mongolia, with its beautiful vast land and animal and natural resources, will greatly boost its development. I am confident that the future of Mongolia will be bright and prosperous thanks to its people and the vision of its leaders...

During 6 years, I took upon myself, in coordination with my colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, the task of developing bilateral relations between the State of Kuwait and Mongolia and giving them a boost of progress and development in all fields, especially in the political, economic, health and commercial fields, despite some challenges... Shortly after assuming my duties, a visit was organized for the Mongolian Foreign Minister to the State of Kuwait in December 2018. After that visit, I suggested to the esteemed Ministry to hold a political consultation meeting as an organized and extended dialogue mechanism between the Kuwaiti and Mongolian sides. Indeed, the first round of political consultations was held between the Foreign ministries of the two countries in the city of Ulaanbaatar in 2019. After that, the Secretary of State at the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited the State of Kuwait in 2020. In the same year, 2020, the second round of political consultations was held in Kuwait City. The aforementioned visits and meetings addressed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them in all fields, especially in the economic, commercial and tourism fields, and in particular touched on the possibility of exporting meat from Mongolia to the State of Kuwait, which is part of ensuring food security for the State of Kuwait, which I always strive for, given the huge livestock wealth that Mongolia is famous for.

At the beginning of 2020, the world faced a challenge represented by the Corona pandemic, and Mongolia, like other countries, went into a state of high alert, which led to the postponement of periodic meetings of cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, and we stopped organizing the National Day reception for more than two years due to the pandemic and the resulting quarantines. However, our bilateral relations, even during the pandemic, and with perseverance and determination, did not stop, as the State of Kuwait is considered one of the donor countries in the (COVAX Initiative), which aimed to provide an opportunity for access to a vaccine against Corona for all countries with modest health capabilities, from which friendly Mongolia received reasonable quantities of the vaccine, as part of efforts to enhance global health security and prevent epidemic disasters.

After recovering from the pandemic and quarantine, things returned to normal as we, along with our Mongolian friends and colleagues, carried out various activities and events such as the “Welcome to Mongolia” event in the State of Kuwait, which was organized in March 2023 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia in cooperation with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in Kuwait to introduce Mongolia, its people and culture. In March of last year, the Kuwait-Mongolia Economic Forum was held in Kuwait City and was organized between the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mongolia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the State of Kuwait in the presence of the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia, the Chairman of the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Vice Chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 30 Mongolian companies and the same number of Kuwaiti companies. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Mongolia and the State of Kuwait in order to provide support for establishing relations between companies in the two countries, exchanging information, organizing exhibitions and conferences, and conducting market studies.

On the development and health front, I would like to point out the importance of the inauguration of the Burn Center, which was completed with a generous Amiri grant of 8 million dollars and under the supervision of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, at the end of May last year 2023, in the presence of His Excellency the Mongolian Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, and the official delegation from the Kuwait Fund. We are now happy that the Burn Center is providing its services at full capacity to Mongolian citizens...

At the end of last year 2023, we were able to hold the third meeting of political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries in December 2023, during which a wide range of topics were discussed, including ways to enhance bilateral relations in the economic, commercial and investment sectors, and activating the competent authorities in the two countries to prepare agreements and memoranda of understanding for signing during high-level visits between the two countries in the future...

In terms of bilateral agreements, the embassy prepared a visit by a delegation from the Mongolian Ministry of Roads and Transport Development and the Mongolian General Aviation Authority to the State of Kuwait in February of last year 2023, and they met with the Deputy General Authority of Civil Aviation of Kuwait. The two sides agreed to sign an Agreement on Air Relations between the two countries in the near future.

As I mentioned above regarding securing food security for the State of Kuwait, there were joint efforts with the Mongolian side to export meat from Mongolia to the State of Kuwait, and the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition in the State of Kuwait lifted its ban on importing all types of meat from Mongolia in December 2023. The Gulf Accreditation Center in Gulf Cooperation Council also decided in December 2023 to accredit Mongolia concerning agency to issue a halal certificate within it, for a period of 5 years (2023-2027). These efforts open up prospects for trade cooperation between Mongolia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially with the State of Kuwait. We recently witnessed the first shipment of Mongolian meat to the State of Kuwait, and it is currently being sold in Kuwaiti markets....

Recently, on October 7, 2024, His Excellency the President of Mongolia, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, awarded the State of Kuwait, represented by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), with the Friendship Medal considering the contributions made by the State of Kuwait in the socioeconomic development of Mongolia. The award of this presidential medal indicates the level of strength of cooperation between the two friendly countries. The honor also came in appreciation of the contributions, loans, and aid from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development as a result of the embassy’s tireless efforts and endeavors to strengthen cooperation ties and develop bilateral relations between the State of Kuwait and Mongolia over the past years and in all fields...

Soon, the State of Kuwait and Mongolia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in June of next year, which is considered one of the important occasions for the two friendly countries. In this regard, I would like to emphasize the importance of commemorating this anniversary, which reflects the depth of the long-standing relations between the two friendly countries and cooperation in all fields, especially since the State of Kuwait is the first Arab and Gulf country to open a resident embassy in Mongolia, which makes this relationship of prominent, distinctive and unique importance....

Finally, after years of joint cooperation, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mongolia for the support and hospitality I have received during my mission years, and I look forward at the same time to continue developing the high-level relationship between the State of Kuwait and the friendly country of Mongolia, and I hope that what has been achieved in the past years will be a solid foundation for launching towards developing and strengthening relations in the future between the two friendly countries...

I cannot miss on this occasion but to extend my sincere thanks and great gratitude to all those who contributed to accomplishing the mission and achieving the required goals, even if the ambition was greater than that, and to everyone who created a positive impression at that stage, which certainly does not mean the end, but rather the beginning of a new step towards another stage that can strengthen the foundation that was built during the past six years…

Ulaanbaatar - Mongolia

November 2024