Foreign policy and defense
According to abbreviationfinder, Mongolia is a nation in Eastern Asia. Its capital city is Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia’s foreign policy is characterized by its geographical location, squeezed between Russia and China. From the beginning of the 1920s to the end of the 1980s, Mongolia was heavily dependent on the Soviet Union. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country has been labeled as neutral. However, Russia has remained an important trading partner.
The relationship with China is characterized by mutual suspicion, although it has improved since the early 1990s. Many Mongols still fear today that history should repeat itself and that the Chinese will again have a dominant role in the country (see Older history). China, for its part, is worried that a growing Mongolian nationalism will spread to the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. However, China is the country’s largest trading partner and represents the largest foreign investment.
- Countryaah: Overview of business holidays and various national observances in Mongolia for years of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In order to reduce the influence of the two neighboring countries, Mongolia has grown contacts with, above all, the United States, but also with Japan, South Korea, India and a number of EU countries. All have provided significant development assistance to the country.
Relations with the United States have improved significantly since the fall of the Mongol Communist regime in 1990. Mongolia condemned the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and welcomed the government that succeeded the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that year. The US and Mongolia began military cooperation in 2005, which included, among other things, financial support for the Mongolian armed forces and joint military exercises.
Mongolia is one of the few countries in the world to have friendly relations with North Korea. The capital, Ulan Bator, has hosted talks between Japan and North Korea on the North Korean nuclear weapons program. Like other countries in the region, Mongolia is advocating the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The religious ties between Mongolia and Tibet (both have Lama Buddhism as the main religion) have become stronger since the Mongols rediscovered their Buddhist heritage in the 1990s. Despite protests from China, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has visited Mongolia several times.
Defense
Mongolia mainly has a defense conscience. There are also paramilitary forces as well as an army reserve. The country’s fighting forces were significantly reduced during the 1990s for economic reasons. In recent years, military cooperation with Russia has contributed to the country’s military equipment, which is originally Soviet, being upgraded and modernized, including through the purchase of fighter aircraft. Mongolian soldiers have participated in exercises with both Russian, Chinese and American forces. Mongolian allies have also participated in international coalition forces or UN troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
FACTS – DEFENSE
Army: 8 900 men (2017)
The air Force: 800 men (2017)
Military expenditure’s share of GDP: 0.7 percent (2017)
Military spending’s share of the state budget: 2.1 percent (2017)