Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his visit to Ulan Bator on March 30 agreed with Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag and President Tsakhia Elbegdorj to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of mineral resources development, trade relations and the environment. They also agreed to launch a trilateral framework consisting of Japan, Mongolia and the United States for policy discussions.
Apparently Mr. Abe wants to push Asia diplomacy by forging strong ties with Mongolia, which borders China to the south and Russia to the north and has diplomatic relations with North Korea.
He is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Mongolia since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the country in 2006. Back in Tokyo, he said that Japan "attaches importance to relations with countries which share the same values such as the rule of law and basic human rights."