AKIPRESS.COM - In Budapest, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga, the Kremlin said.
The meeting took place after the opening ceremony of the 2017 World Judo Championships on August 28. The two president watched the competitions together with the Prime Minister of Hungary.
Putin said he was glad to meet with Battulga and said: "We know you as both a politician and a good athlete. I would like to congratulate you on the excellent performance of Mongolian judokas at the world championships here. As for bilateral relations, we will have an opportunity to speak about them in more detail in Vladivostok, where I know you are planning to attend the forum as well. But it is already clear that the trend in trade is good. While last year it fell by 20 percent, in the first half year of 2017 it grew by over 34 percent."
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga for his part told about the planned working meeting in Vladivostok in the near future.
"The presidential election in Mongolia took place less than two months ago. Considering modern realities, I am planning to further expand relations with our northern neighbour. You have just said that trade has grown. This trade owes something to cross-border regions and I think it is important to pay attention to the relations between border regions because we have a common border of over 4,000 km," Battulga said.
The Mongolian president added that his country is interested in Russian investments. "Our priority is railways. We have a joint venture, Ulan Bator Railways, with fifty-fifty participation," he added.