S. Korean, Mongolian PMs hold talks on rare earths, infrastructure

By Kim Deok-hyun

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene held talks on Wednesday and agreed to boost cooperation in rare earth minerals, infrastructure development and climate change responses.

Luvsannamsrai, who is on a five-day official visit to South Korea, also threw Mongolia's official support behind Seoul's bid to bring the 2030 World Expo to the southeastern port city of Busan, Han's office said in a statement.

During the talks, Han told Luvsannamsrai that South Korea and Mongolia are "strategic partners who share universal values and have mutually complementary advantages in many areas."

"We expect to actively discover and promote cooperative measures in areas such as climate change response and infrastructure development," Han said.

Luvsannamsrai told Han that "Mongolian people highly appreciate that Korean people contribute greatly to all changes in Mongolian society."

"Based on the success of political relations over the past 30 years, we hope that people-to-people exchanges, investor exchanges, and business cooperation can develop further over the next 30 years," Luvsannamsrai said.

Under a preliminary agreement signed after the talks, South Korea and Mongolia will hold an annual meeting on rare earth minerals and other rare metals.

The two nations will also jointly explore and develop rare metals in Mongolia, according to the statement.

In addition, South Korea and Mongolia agreed to launch negotiations to sign an economic partnership deal that would expand investment and trade between the two nations, it said.

While throwing support behind South Korea's bid for the World Expo, Luvsannamsrai said, "We are confident of the successful hosting of the Busan World Expo and hope that Korea's status in the international community will be enhanced through the fair," according to the statement.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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