Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga will be jointly inaugurating the Lord Buddha statue at Gandan Monastery on Friday. The inauguration will be taking place through video-conferencing. The Prime Minister's office tweeted about the event on Thursday evening, adding that it is a symbol of India and Mongolia's spiritual partnership and shares Buddhist heritage.

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President Battulga's visit

President Battulga is on a five-day visit and was invited by India's President Ram Nath Kovind. He arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a State visit, which is the first of its kind in a decade. He came to India with high-level officials and a business delegation. President Battulga will attend an India-Mongolia Business Forum in New Delhi. The representatives from both sides will hold in-depth discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues and will also review ongoing cooperation in fields of infrastructure, energy, disaster management, defence, security, culture, and capacity building. PM Modi and President Battulga met recently on September 5 in Russia.

The PM had then tweeted the following: "Engaged with a cherished spiritual friend and developmental partner. Held talks with Mr. Khaltmaagiin Battulga, the President of Mongolia. We reviewed the full range of bilateral ties and deliberated on ways to enhance cooperation for the mutual benefit of our people."

President Battulga will also visit Agra and Bodh Gaya. 

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Consolidating ties

The MEA, in a statement, said, 'India and Mongolia had established a Strategic Partnership in 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Mongolia. A number of high-level exchanges have taken place since then. The partnership has seen considerable progress during the last few years. India-Mongolia Strategic Partnership is based on the ideals of freedom and democracy and on a strong foundation of our shared Buddhist heritage. India is executing an Oil Refinery Project under its Line of Credit of US$ 1 billion announced during the visit of Prime Minister Modi in 2015.' Mongolia has been previously visited by former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in April 2018, former home minister Rajnath Singh in June 2018 and former minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju in July 2018. Kiren Rijiju received the President Battulga at New Delhi airport. 

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