At the invitation of Byambatsogt Sandag, Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia, Milton Dick, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, is paying an official visit to Mongolia. As part of the visit, Speakers Byambatsogt and Milton Dick held official talks at the State Palace on September 22.

At the beginning of the meeting, Speaker Byambatsogt emphasized that the official visit, the first by a Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia to Mongolia in 15 years, is an important step toward developing bilateral and inter-parliamentary cooperation.

He noted that Mongolia and Australia share common values, including democracy, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law, and a market economy. He expressed Mongolia’s interest in expanding the scope of relations with Australia as a third neighbor, maintaining regular political dialogue, and boosting economic cooperation, trade, and investment.

Speaker Milton Dick noted that his visit represents significant progress in cooperation between the two countries. He said that next year will mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Australia. Over this period, strategic, political, economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries have been expanding, and he expressed confidence that the current visit would elevate these relations to a new level.

Chairman of the State Great Khural Byambatsogt briefed his counterpart on Mongolia’s 126-member Parliament established following amendments to the Constitution and emphasized the importance of Australia’s experience in developing a citizen-centered, transparent, and open parliament. He also expressed Mongolia’s interest in learning from Australia’s experience with legislation adopted to protect children’s rights on social media and prevent fraud.

He expressed satisfaction that the launch of direct flights between Mongolia and Australia, which he initiated and took part in establishing the legal framework for while serving as Minister of Road and Transport, is nearing realization. He also called for attention to easing visa requirements for travel to Australia, maintaining the positive outcome of Mongolia receiving dividends for the first time 17 years after the Oyu Tolgoi agreement was concluded, increasing investment, and expanding cooperation in education.

During the meeting, Chairman Byambatsogt also asked Australia to support efforts to resolve the case involving the murder of Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu in Malaysia, in which a person convicted by the Federal Court of Malaysia is reportedly residing in Australia, and to facilitate the extradition of the convicted person to Malaysia to face legal accountability.

Speaker Milton Dick expressed appreciation for the reforms initiated to make the activities of the State Great Khural more open and transparent to citizens. He also expressed his commitment to expanding bilateral, particularly inter-parliamentary cooperation, and to continuing Australian Government scholarship programs to provide more young people with opportunities to study.

Regarding the case involving the murder of a Mongolian citizen in Malaysia, he said attention would be paid to ensuring that the matter is addressed fairly by the relevant law enforcement authorities and that information on measures being taken by law enforcement agencies would be provided as developments occur.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Speaker Milton Dick extended an invitation to Speaker Byambatsogt to pay an official visit to Australia, according to the Office of the Open Parliament of the State Great Khural.

Published Date:2026-09-23