India and Mongolia have a common interest in fostering peace and prosperity in the entire region

In a push to India's strategic partnership with East Asian countries, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Mongolia from September 5-7.

This will be the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Mongolia and will further consolidate the defence cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.

Singh will hold bilateral talks with Mongolia’s Minister of Defence Lt Gen. Saikhanbayar. He will also call on President of Mongolia U Khurelsukh and Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia G Zandanshatar.

During the bilateral talks, the two Defence Ministers shall review the bilateral defence cooperation between India and Mongolia,and explore new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral engagements. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest.

India and Mongolia have a common interest in fostering peace and prosperity in the entire region. They share a strategic partnership and defence is a key pillar of this partnership, the defence ministry said.

The bilateral defence engagements with Mongolia have been expanding over a period of time to include wide ranging contacts between the two countries, including Joint Working Group meeting, military to military exchanges, high level visits, capacity building and training programmes and bilateral exercises.