SAMARKAND, September 16. /TASS/. Moscow, Beijing and Ulaanbaatar decided to extend the project for another five years, which involves the development of a common economic corridor, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on the sidelines of the SCO forum.
"Taking into account the already accumulated experience of cooperation on the trilateral track, we propose to focus our efforts on the consistent implementation of the program for the development of the Russian-Chinese-Mongolian economic corridor, which is developing successfully. We agreed to extend it for another five-year period," the Russian leader said.
According to Putin, special attention in the implementation of this program should be given to further expansion of the joint infrastructure and closer coordination of national development programs. Such steps will help create favorable conditions for a significant increase in the volume of cross-border cargo transportation, the growth of mutual trade and will give impetus to the development of the region, he said.
Among the most important joint projects, the president mentioned the upgrade of the Ulaanbaatar railway, which is an important artery for container traffic between Russia, China and Mongolia.
"We believe it is necessary to continue work to expand the capacity of this transport corridor, upgrade tracks, rolling stock," he said. In particular, it is planned to reconstruct the Naushki checkpoint on the Russian-Mongolian border, increasing its throughput.