Category Archives: Foreign Policy

Mongolia – From Sino-Russian Buffer to Conversion Zone

Last autumn, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin made separate visits to Mongolia, met for a tri-lateral (Russia-China-Mongolia) summit in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe during the leadership summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and dispatched their vice-foreign ministers … Continue reading →

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Progress on Oyu Tolgoi?

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolian government has been battling a homemade economic crisis for some two years now. It has been a largely self-inflicted crisis brought on by some hasty policy decisions regarding investments that have led to a massive … Continue reading →

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Appreciating the Work of the Canadian Embassy

I am not even Canadian, and I don’t work for the Canadian or for the Mongolian government for that matter, though they are obviously important interlocutors for me given my interest in economic, political, and social development in Mongolia. Yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, Foreign Policy, Governor General's Visit 2013 | Tagged | 2 Comments

Caveats for the Mongolia-China Strategic Partnership

China and Mongolia upgraded their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2011. Last year, both countries agreed to the implementation of a detailed action plan to strengthen their strategic partnership in the five specific areas of politics, security, the … Continue reading →

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DFATD Announcement of FM Baird Visit

On July 22 the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development confirmed previous reporting in the Mongolia press that Foreign Minister Baird will be visiting Mongolia later this week: In his first trip to Mongolia, Baird will discuss the … Continue reading →

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FM Baird to Visit Mongolia

According to Mongolian news sources ( 24 Tsag | infomongolia.com), Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird will be visiting Ulaanbaatar July 23-25. There’s no official Canadian announcement as of July 20, but let’s assume that this visit is really happening, after … Continue reading →

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Khaan Quest 2014: a small exercise with big implications

Just recovering from the heavy study term and now trying to join you all.  Here is a link to my recent op-ed on Khaan Quest, a brainchild of the US-Mongolian militaries over two decades of partnership.  The exercise is the only … Continue reading →

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Foreign Policy Roundup #20: June 9- 22, 2014

By Brandon Miliate A big couple of weeks in Mongolian foreign affairs with the first “Ulaanbaatar Dialogues” held to discuss security issues in East Asia, the President of Latvia making an official visit, and Mongolia’s participation in the ILO and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy Roundup, Germany, Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia and ..., Russia, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Will Events in Ukraine Trickle East to Mongolia?

As President Obama declares that the US is preparing to boost its military presence in Europe to the tune of $1 billion, and NATO and the EU move quickly to deepen relations with Georgia and Moldova it is easy to … Continue reading →

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Foreign Policy Implications of Mongolian Crony Democracy

Though considered a healthy—albeit developing—democracy, Mongolia has in recent years become dominated by the competing interests of its political and business factions, whose collective actions undermine the country’s democratization trends as well as complicate Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy. For now, Mongolia … Continue reading →

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Mongolia-Australia Mining Partnership

During FM Lu Bold’s visit to Australia, there has now been an announcement of a grand “Mining Partnership” between Mongolia and Australia to the tune of A$20m over 5 years. From Julie Bishop, Australian Foreign Minister’s website: Mongolian Foreign Minister … Continue reading →

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Foreign Policy, Mining & Development

I happened to catch a segment of CBC’s “The 180” radio show that included an interview with Erin O’Toole, the Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade. The segment focused on the “marriage” of foreign policy, development aid, and … Continue reading →

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In Defence of Twitter Diplomacy

On January 6, David Carment (Carleton Univ, @cdnfp) wrote a comment piece for The Embassy (a Canadian weekly and on-line paper focused on Canada’s international relations) that made a case for “Why Twitter Diplomacy Won’t Lead to Better Foreign Policy“. As I’ve … Continue reading →

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The Political Theatre of a State Visit to Mongolia

October 25 was the first day of a two-day State Visit by Canadian Governor General David Johnston to Mongolia. Ahead of the visit, I offered some background. For me, this was the first state visit by anyone anywhere that I … Continue reading →

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Results of Canadian State Visit to Mongolia

Obviously, state visits have symbolic purposes and motivations, but they are also the occasion for announcements in a bilateral relationship. I tried to guess at what the intentions for the state visit to Mongolia by Governor General David Johnston were … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Foreign Policy, Governor General's Visit 2013 | Tagged | 2 Comments