President Lee: "Golden Era of Korea-Mongolia Relations, $1 Billion Trade by 2030 Through CEPA"

On the 9th (local time), President Lee Jae-myung held a summit meeting with Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh and cited the adoption of the Joint Declaration on the "Golden Era of Korea-Mongolia Relations" as the greatest achievement. He also proposed expanding bilateral trade volume between Korea and Mongolia to 1 billion dollars by 2030, based on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has been settled in principle.

President Lee, who is on a state visit to Mongolia, made these remarks during a joint press conference with President Ukhna Khurelsukh at the Ulaanbaatar Government Complex following their summit meeting on the same day.

President Lee Jae-myung and Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh are holding a joint press conference at the Ulaanbaatar Government Complex on the 9th (local time). 2026.7.9 Yonhap News Agency. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

President Lee stated, "This joint declaration will serve as an important milestone that will turn the friendship and trust built over the past 30 years between Korea and Mongolia into a golden era for our bilateral relations," adding, "I hope that, based on this joint declaration, our two countries can contribute to improving the livelihoods of our peoples, as well as to peace and development in the region."

He further highlighted the achievements of the summit, saying, "With the conclusion in principle of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), we will work together to achieve 1 billion dollars in trade between Korea and Mongolia by 2030." He also announced, "We plan to broaden the scope of mutually beneficial and sustainable cooperation in a variety of fields, including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation, advanced science and technology, logistics and infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, health and medical care, and development cooperation."

Korea and Mongolia upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2021 and have been negotiating the CEPA since November 2023. Although discussions had been delayed due to concerns about market opening in Mongolia, the two countries reached a broad agreement on key issues on the occasion of President Lee's state visit.

In particular, President Lee emphasized, "Health and medical cooperation is an area where the people of both countries can most directly feel the benefits," and explained, "Through related cooperation, including the construction of the Second National Cancer Center, we have agreed to work together to improve the health and quality of life of the Mongolian people."

President Lee also stated, "We have agreed to further expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, which are the foundation of friendly relations between our two countries." He stressed, "The two leaders will work together to promote exchanges among the peoples of both countries in various fields such as tourism, studying abroad, employment, and cultural exchange, and will strive to enhance the convenience and mutual understanding of our peoples based on the ‘Roadmap for Promoting People-to-People Exchange Cooperation.’"

Meanwhile, during the summit, President Lee also explained the Korean government's vision for peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula to President Khurelsukh. President Khurelsukh expressed his strong support for the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and stated that he would always support the Korean government's efforts to establish peace on the peninsula, according to President Lee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.