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             M gonira R                          S



Mongolia


Updated July 1, 2019


Overview
Mongolia is a landlocked nation of 3 million people
between Russia and the People's Republic of China (PRC).
It has been viewed as a democratic success story both
among  former Soviet satellite states and in Asia. In 1989,
democratic activists staged protests against communist rule
and formed the Mongolian Democratic Union. The
Mongolian  People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which
had ruled the country since 1921, allowed multiparty
elections in 1990 and relinquished power in 1996, when a
Democratic Party (DP)-led coalition of opposition forces
won  nationwide elections.

Mongolia's foreign relations are driven by a desire to
preserve its autonomy by balancing relations between major
partners, including the United States, China, and Russia,
and also Japan and South Korea. Its economy is supported
by extensive mineral resources, but growth remains uneven,
driven by fluctuations in mineral and petroleum prices.

U.S.-Mongoi a Relations
The United States established diplomatic relations with
Mongolia in 1987, and Mongolian leaders describe the
United States as Mongolia's most important third
neighbor-countries that do not border Mongolia but have
close relations with it. Polling indicates Mongolian
perceptions of the United States are largely positive.
Mongolia's relations with its former patron Russia remain
close, and many Mongolians regard Russia with some
affection. At the same time, they remain wary of China,
their largest economic partner. Mongolia's official relations
with China largely have been amicable, with the exception
of periods of tension and pressure from Beijing following
visits to Mongolia, a traditionally Tibetan Buddhist country,
by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom
the PRC government  asserts aims to split Tibet from China.

The U.S. government views Mongolia  as an emerging
partner and as a country with which it may cooperate to
achieve a shared vision of rules-based order in the Indo-
Pacific. The Department of State's Congressional Budget
Justification for Foreign Operations, FY2019, states, The
primary goals of U.S. assistance to Mongolia are to ensure
the United States remains a preferred partner over
geographical neighbors Russia and China and to give
Mongolia greater latitude to chart an independent foreign
and security policy.

Mongolia participates in United Nations global
peacekeeping operations and has over 1,000 peacekeepers
deployed in Africa. Mongolia sent troops to Iraq from 2003
to 2008 and currently has over 200 troops in Afghanistan
supporting Coalition operations. U.S. Indo-Pacific
Command   and the Mongolian Armed  Forces (MAF) hold
an annual multinational peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia


known  as Khaan Quest. Khaan Quest 2019, the 17th such
event, focused on peacekeeping and stability operations and
involved 900 MAF  personnel, 220 U.S. military personnel,
and participants from 29 other countries including China.

In April 2019, the United States and Mongolia held bilateral
consultations in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, the
first such dialogue held under the auspices of the U.S.-
Mongolia Expanded  Comprehensive  Partnership
established in 2018. The two sides discussed regional
security matters, issues related to Mongolia's economic
development, and bilateral cooperation on aviation and
mining safety.

In April 2019, the Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act,
To promote United States-Mongolia trade by authorizing
duty-free treatment for certain imports from Mongolia,
was introduced in the House (H.R. 2219) and Senate (S.
1188).


Figure I. Mongolia at a Glance


Sources: Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, 2018. Map
created by CRS, 2018.
Mongolians participate in programs of the Open World
Leadership Center, a U.S. congressional agency whose
mission is to introduce rising leaders of 17 Eurasian
countries to U.S. governing and free market systems.
Mongolia's legislature is one of 21 parliaments worldwide
that have partnered with the U.S. House Democracy
Partnership, a bipartisan commission of the U.S. House of
Representatives that works to strengthen democratic
institutions by assisting legislatures in emerging
democracies.

The United States and Mongolia both are members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum
(ARF). Mongolia  is one of nine NATO partner nations,
along with Japan and South Korea in East Asia. Mongolia
also is a member of the Governing Council of the
Community   of Democracies, established in 2000 to support
democratic transitions worldwide.

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