Germany, Mongolia work to break economic reliances

Germany and Mongolia have agreed to expand economic cooperation, to reduce economic dependency on Russia and China, reported dpa.

"In the areas of business, raw materials partnerships and renewable energies, we can make even better use of our joint potential," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday during an appearance with her Mongolian counterpart Batmunkh Battsetseg in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

"We've seen that economic dependence can be used as a weapon and diversification means security in today's world," Baerbock added.

Mongolia in Central Asia is considered one of the richest countries worldwide in raw materials with significant deposits of coal, copper, gold, uranium and rare earth minerals. These are needed in the expansion of renewable energies, mainly for battery and chip manufacture. But the country is landlocked, squeezed between China and Russia.

Baerbock said that in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she was grateful that Germany and Mongolia were able to work together.

She stressed a joint commitment to international rules, the United Nations (UN) Charter and collaboration in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). She added that the two countries also wanted to intensify this partnership.

Battsetseg spoke of expanding the strategic partnership between her country and Germany. Joint projects were to be expanded and international cooperation was to be stepped up, for example in UN peacekeeping missions, she said.

The German foreign minister is currently on a two-day visit to Ulaanbaatar. On Thursday, Baerbock attended a meeting of women foreign ministers from Asia, Africa and Europe centred on feminist foreign policy.