ULAN BATOR, August 17. /TASS/. Mongolia’s President Khaltmaagiin Battulga hopes for enhancing cooperation with Russia along many tracks.

"I hope that our relations will be developing very intensively, including those in the defense sphere, because 95% of our military hardware is of Russian manufacture," Battulga told TASS in an interview. "Defense is one of the most important spheres of cooperation."

Secondly, there is agriculture, he went on to say.

"In the Soviet era we used a large amount of Soviet-made farm machinery. Now the fleet of Russia-made farm equipment has reduced. We should strengthen cooperation in farming. This is possible, because our countries’ climates are similar. For many years we have discussed the export of Mongolian meat to the Irkutsk Region but progress in tackling the issue is not very fast," Battulga said.

"Infrastructures and transport in general are another field of our interaction," he added.

"We’ve got a rich history, and a large portion of it shows us helping each other. The last example is the Battles of Khalkhyn Gol that must not be forgotten. I believe it is important for us to remember it," he said.

"Improvement of relations and cooperation between Mongolia and the regions of the Russian Federation that have common borders plays a great role in extending cooperation between our countries. Relations and cooperation on the regional level should be taken to new heights," Battulga noted.

Khaltmaagiin Battulga plans to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Vladivostok on September 6-7. "That will be my first official visit abroad," he told TASS.

"During the visit, meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and heads of state of Northeast Asia are planned. Mongolia’s Foreign Ministry is working on its program and agenda," he added.

Tourism

"Tourism is a special industry that requires good administration and high-quality service industry, as well as proper adjustment. We will open a new airport the next year, which will stimulate tourism development, including attraction of Russian tourists. Not many Russian tourists are coming to Mongolia now. These are mainly holiday-makers from Siberian regions who come to us by bus, whereas travelers from Moscow and the European part [of Russia] are visiting Turkey or European countries," the Mongolian president said.

"So, we have shared ideas with Buryatian travel agencies on the establishment of a tourist circle in which tourists from Japan and South Korea will visit the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (northern China), Mongolia and Buryatia, that is ‘three Mongolias,’" he added.