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Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT (front row, center), poses for a commemorative photograph with participants at the 3rd Korea-Mongolia Joint Committee on Science and Technology held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on July 8. / Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT

The government is resuming science and technology cooperation with Mongolia for the first time in 14 years, embarking on research collaboration utilizing the country's growth potential and natural resources. Concurrently, it plans to build a new cooperation framework spanning from science and technology to digital technology, generating mutually beneficial outcomes through personnel exchanges and other initiatives.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on July 9 that it held the "3rd Korea-Mongolia Joint Committee on Science and Technology" on July 8, resuming science and technology cooperation between the two nations.

The two countries signed the "Agreement on Economic, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Mongolian People's Republic" in 1991 and alternately held the joint committee twice in 2010 and 2012, but there had been no official exchanges through the joint committee since then.

On the occasion of this state visit, the ministry held the joint committee meeting for the first time in 14 years, resuming official science and technology exchanges and discussing measures to strengthen cooperation, including personnel exchanges and joint research. The joint committee meeting was led by Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, and Jadambyn Enkhbayar, Minister of Economic Development of Mongolia, as chief delegates, with a total of around 50 representatives from both governments and research institutions attending.

The two countries signed a total of three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for science and technology cooperation between research institutions. As part of establishing a science and technology cooperation framework, an MOU was signed between the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS), and in the mineral resources sector, an MOU was signed between the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and MAS. Additionally, the Korean Collection for Type Cultures (KCTC) of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology signed an MOU with the Institute of Biology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (IB-MAS) for cooperation in the biotechnology field.

Through the signing of these MOUs, the research institutions of both nations plan to push forward substantial cooperation measures in the relevant fields.

On the same day, the ministry held the "Korea-Mongolia Science and Technology Forum," attended by industry, academic, and research experts from both nations, to share cooperation agendas among science and technology innovation entities and explore collaborative projects between research institutions.

Deputy Prime Minister Bae stated, "Through this joint committee meeting held for the first time in 14 years, we have resumed the halted science and technology cooperation and exchanges between Korea and Mongolia, laying the groundwork to vitalize future cooperation. By combining Mongolia's dynamic growth potential and natural resources with Korea's science and technology innovation capabilities, we will together create mutually beneficial outcomes in scientific and technological cooperation."

Meanwhile, the ministry also signed MOUs for science, technology, and digital cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Communications of Mongolia on the day. The science and technology MOU focuses on strengthening cooperation, including policy sharing and personnel exchanges, in fields such as biotechnology, mineral resources including critical minerals and rare earth elements, climate change and the environment, energy, and artificial intelligence (AI).

In the digital cooperation MOU signed with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Communications, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation through information exchange and joint research in sectors such as AI, next-generation mobile communications, and ICT equipment.

                                                                                                           Seo Byung-joo