Published on: 2026-09-14
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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The second Forum of the Regions of Russia and Mongolia is taking place in Ulaanbaatar on September 14-15. The forum has been held since 2025 and is aimed at supporting the development of economic ties between the regions and business representatives of the two countries. It is attended by representatives of state authorities, business and expert circles from both countries – more than 220 participants from 14 regions of Russia and Mongolia.
The program of the second Forum of the regions of Russia and Mongolia is dedicated to issues of strengthening transport connectivity in Eurasia, increasing the role of the regions of the two countries in the development of Eurasian transport corridors, implementing the Temporary Trade Agreement, and cooperation in the development of the Eurasian tourism space. On the sidelines of the forum, another meeting of the subcommission on regional, cross-border cooperation, and tourism development of the Russian-Mongolian Intergovernmental Commission took place; meetings of the business councils of the two countries and a business contact exchange were also organized. Following the forum, it is planned to sign cooperation documents between the regions of Russia and Mongolia, as well as commercial agreements.
The official delegations of the states were headed by Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, and Jadambyin Enkhbayar, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Development of Mongolia, who opened the forum’s plenary session.
In his speech, Alexey Overchuk noted that Mongolia is an important trading partner of Russia, significant both as an independent market, as a transit country, and as a historically close neighbor.
The volume of mutual trade is gradually increasing: by the end of 2025, there was a 4% growth—reaching $2.69 billion, and in the first half of 2026, an 18% growth to $1.58 billion. The Temporary Trade Agreement between the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and Mongolia, which came into force on July 22 of this year, is expected to further boost trade relations: it opened the possibility of duty-free import of all goods of export interest to the Mongolian side, primarily wool, cashmere, leather, and meat, into the common market of the EAEU, which has a capacity of 190 million people.
Special attention in the speech of the Deputy Prime Minister was given to issues of non-tariff regulation of mutual trade, including technical regulation, sanitary and veterinary control, and customs procedures. The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the first meeting of the Joint Committee held on the sidelines of the forum, established in accordance with the Temporary Trade Agreement, at which all issues related to the operation of the free trade regime were discussed.
Russian-Mongolian cooperation in the bilateral format is dynamically developing in all sectors, noted Alexey Overchuk. Russia supplies fuel and lubricants to Mongolia. The joint stock company “Ulaanbaatar Railway” is setting records in transportation volumes, ensuring growth in cargo traffic both in bilateral communication and in the Russia – Mongolia – China economic corridor.
The growth point for trade-economic and humanitarian ties has become the tourism sector: the mutual flow of tourists between the countries reached almost 500 thousand trips, with 95% of trips made by car. Together with Mongolian partners and airlines, the development of air communication between the cities of the two countries is being worked out, including the possibility of restoring direct flights between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar. To promote tourist flows, it is planned to develop joint routes within the framework of the “Great Tea Road” project – 19 Russian regions are ready to implement it on their territory.
Speaking about humanitarian cooperation, Alexey Overchuk reported that for the 2026/2027 academic year, the Government of Russia has allocated 620 budget-funded places for Mongolian students to study in Russian universities. The Russian side expects reciprocal steps from the Mongolian leadership to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of Russian language teaching in the country’s secondary educational institutions, including supporting the operation of Russian-Mongolian schools in Ulaanbaatar.
Interregional interaction has acquired a qualitatively new dynamic: established trade and economic ties with Mongolia involve more than 60 subjects of the Russian Federation. This is also facilitated by the fact that the border between the two countries, stretching 3,485 km, is one of the longest continuous land borders in the world. The First Forum of Regions, held in 2025 in Irkutsk, initiated systematic work: based on its results, a Medium-Term Action Program for the Development of Interregional Cooperation for 2026–2030 was signed, cooperation agreements between regions were concluded, and a number of commercial documents were signed.
As examples of successful interregional cooperation, the Deputy Chairman of the Government noted, besides the border regions, the Bryansk region. The Bryansk Machine-Building Plant supplied shunting diesel locomotives for the Ulaanbaatar Railway, and today more than 20 Bryansk-made machines operate in the railway’s locomotive fleet. In November last year, a Russian mainline diesel locomotive pulled a record-length freight train of 108 wagons on the railway. The activities of the St. Petersburg Mining University of Empress Catherine II, which trains engineering personnel for Mongolia, were also noted.
In the first nine months of 2026, the regions of the two countries held almost 30 joint events. “It is important that these events lead to concrete results and contribute to creating better conditions for the mutual development of markets by Russian and Mongolian producers,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister.
“I hope that as a result of today’s work, new concrete steps will be taken for the comprehensive development of Russian-Mongolian relations. The Russian side is determined to further strengthen cooperation with Mongolia in all areas of mutual interest on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for the interests of each partner,” said Aleksey Overchuk.
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