AKIPRESS.COM - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev and his Mongolian counterpart Ulziisaikhan Enkhtuvshin have discussed ways to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the Russian government said.

Gordeyev and Enkhtuvshin met in Moscow on Sept 4, according to a statement published on the Russian government's website.

"A wide range of issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, as well as the work of the Russian-Mongolian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation were discussed," the statement said.

During the meeting, Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister asked Russia to provide financial assistance and allocation of a preferential loan of $1.5 billion for further implementation of joint projects in energy sector, including modernization of the HPP-3 and HPP-4 of Ulaanbaatar, TASS news agency reports.

Main directions of the commission's work include the building of the Russia-Mongolia-China economic corridor, the preparation for a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Mongolia, cooperation on agro-industrial, transport and energy sectors, as well as financial support for joint projects, according to the statement.

The participants noted that trade between the two countries continues to show positive dynamics and that progress is observed in almost all joint projects.

Trade volume between Russia and Mongolia in 2017 increased by almost 50 percent to over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, and grew by some 30 percent in the first half of 2018.