BUDAPEST, August 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Khaltmaagin Battulga have agreed to hold detailed talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
In the course of a working meeting here on Monday, Putin congratulated Battulga on the occasion of the Mongolian team’s successful performance at the World Judo Championship.
"I’m glad to get to know you personally," Putin said. "We know you as a politician and a good athlete. I’d like to congratulate you on the Mongolian judokas’ very good performance here at the World Championship."
The Russian leader said he planned to have a more detailed discussion on Russian-Mongolian relations with Battulga at the forum in Vladivostok, which the Mongolian president planned to attend.
Putin added that Russian-Mongolian trade was demonstrating fair dynamics this year, saying: "While we evidenced a 20% slump last year, there was 34% growth in January-June 2017 alone."
He pointed to progress along the political vector of bilateral relations, as much as in economic and cultural ties. Specifically, he pointed out the active operations of Russian-Mongolian joint-venture companies and a growing volume of cargo haulage across the Russian-Mongolian border.
Khaltmaagin Battulga said on his part he was especially pleased to meet with Putin at the judo championship. "Since both of us take interest in this topic and love it. I think it’s really great that we’re meeting during the course of an event like this one. I think it will lay down sound fundamentals for the future."
The Mongolian leader hoped he and Putin would have more detailed talks in Vladivostok, adding that he planned to promote trade with Russia.
"I hope to promote relations with our northern neighbor taking into account the current reality," Battulga said.
He also stated a growth of bilateral trade, saying that it mostly reflected an increase of trade between cross-border regions. In the light of it, he suggested that special attention should be given to cross-border cooperation in view of the fact that the Russian-Mongolian border is more than 4,000 km long.
Battulga stressed his particular interest in the sphere of investment. He brought this up in connection with the Mongolian-Russian Ulaanbaatar Railways joint-venture, which the sides co-owned on parity grounds.
"Agreed," Putin answered.
Vladivostok is due to host the 3rd World Economic Forum on September 6-7 this year. TASS is a general information partner for the event, the official photo host and the moderator on the floor of investment projects presentation.