European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso concluded his landmark visit to Mongolia after holding talks with the nation's top ranking officials, the European bloc said in a press statement Monday.
Barroso had visited Mongolia on Sunday on the invitation of Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, the President of Mongolia. It was the first visit by a European Commission President to Mongolia.
The European Commission had said in a statement before the visit that Barroso's trip to the Asian nation was aimed at providing fresh impetus to EU- Mongolia bilateral relations. He had had talks with President Elbegdorj and Prime Minister Noroviin Altankhuyag during his one-day visit.
A joint statement issued after the talks said the leaders agreed that 2013 has been an important year in the development of EU-Mongolia relations with the signature of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in April and the high-level exchanges. They also discussed progress achieved so far in such areas as trade, development cooperation, agriculture, research and innovation and political dialogue.
Barroso praised Mongolia for successful Chairmanship of the Community of Democracies (CD) for 2011-2013. Both sides reaffirmed that they shared common values - rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights.
"The Mongolian side underlined that an EU presence in Ulaanbaatar would give fresh impetus to expanding bilateral relations. Both sides recognized that such a presence is desirable and pledged to cooperate closely to create the necessary conditions," the statement read.
Before ending his historic visit, Barroso extended an invitation to Mongolian leaders to visit Brussels in 2014 on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the EU-Mongolia relations.
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