On March 28, 2018, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga held a meeting with SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov as part of his visit to Mongolia.
Mr Alimov thanked his host for his invitation to pay an official visit to Ulaanbaatar, noting the importance of a direct dialogue for promoting Mongolia-SCO cooperation.
The officials discussed matters related to developing relations between Mongolia and the SCO and prospects for further increasing interaction within the organisation.
They also brought up the subject of the preparations for the SCO summit due to be held in Qingdao, China, in June.
Mongolia pursues an active regional policy and we value our cooperation with the SCO, the Mongolian President said. The accession of India and Pakistan disproved the then existing views that the SCO was a military organization. Last year's SCO summit confirmed its commitment to promoting economic and humanitarian cooperation, he said.
We are interested in strengthening regional cooperation in the field of jointly fighting terrorism as well as drug trafficking, President Battulga added.
He also stressed his readiness to attend the Qingdao summit in June.
For his part, Mr Alimov noted that Mongolia had held high observer status since 2004 and was a member of the SCO family. "Mongolia is a fraternal country for the SCO member-states that are united not only by the common Eurasian space but also by a common history, which means a common destiny," he said. The Secretary-General also pointed out the special importance of his visit to Ulaanbaatar, which offered a good opportunity for discussing a number of topics concerning cooperation within the SCO, as well as the development and intensification of collaboration between Mongolia and the SCO.
The meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere.