Japan, Mongolia Agree to Advance Defense Cooperation

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Mongolian counterpart, Damba Batlut, agreed to advance defense cooperation between their countries in a meeting at the Japanese Defense Ministry in Tokyo.

In Wednesday's meeting, the two also confirmed their intention to work together to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

"Mongolia occupies a geopolitically important position between Russia and China," Koizumi said at the meeting, emphasizing that the Japanese Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces place importance on cooperation with Mongolia.

Batlut said Japan-Mongolia relations are developing across a wide range of fields.

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