AKIPRESS.COM - Minister of Defense of Mongolia Byambatsogt Sandag took part in the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin on May 13-14, Montsame reported.

More than 800 representatives from 130 countries, including Defense Ministers and Deputy Ministers from 54 countries, are participating in the high-level forum to discuss the future of peacekeeping, and express and demonstrate their political support. It also provides a platform for delegations to announce substantial pledges in support of closing capability gaps and adapting peace operations to better respond to existing challenges and new realities.

The participation of the Mongolian Armed Forces in UN peacekeeping operations began with the first two military observer officers sent to Congo in 2002. Mongolia has participated in peacekeeping operations in Congo, Western Sahara, Sudan, Ethiopia-Eitrea, Georgia, Sierra Leone, Chad, South Sudan, Afghanistan, the Darfur region of Sudan, Yemen, the disputed border region of Abyei, as well as in Iraq, and Kosovo, in the past 23 years.

Mongolia will continue to contribute to global peacekeeping efforts and increase the participation of its peacekeepers, Defense Minister Byambatsogt said during the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial.