As Mongolia and India celebrate seven decades of diplomatic ties in 2025, their relationship is characterized by a high degree of spiritual affinity and geopolitical aspiration. While India and Mongolia officially share a Strategic Partnership anchored in democratic values, a critical examination reveals that this designation is largely aspirational, struggling to overcome profound economic and logistical challenges.
With Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa’s much-anticipated visit to New Delhi later this month, the two nations stand ready to elevate this alliance, reinforcing their dual identity as spiritual brothers (connected by Buddhism) and strategic partners (united by geopolitical foresight).
Historical Bedrock: Trust Forged in Spirit and Diplomacy
The roots of Mongol-Indian ties stretch back over a millennium, when Buddhism traveled from the Indian subcontinent to the Mongolian steppes. For Mongolians, who practice Tibetan Buddhism integrated with traditional shamanism, India – where Gautama Buddha achieve enlightenment – holds sacred status. Mongolian Ambassador to India D. Ganbold aptly described this connection as “invisible infrastructure,” a force that has endured even amid global political upheaval.
Diplomatically, India’s 1955 recognition of Mongolia was a bold step in the Cold War’s bipolar landscape. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision reflected his commitment to pan-Asian solidarity, transcending ideological divides. India followed with critical support, backing Mongolia’s United Nations membership in 1961 and its entry into the Non-Aligned Movement in 1991. Dr. Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, acting director general of the Indian Council of World Affairs noted that these actions solidified a “mutual respect that has stood the test of time.”
The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union opened a new chapter. Mongolia’s “Third Neighbor” policy – seeking allies beyond Russia and China – aligned seamlessly with India’s “Act East” initiative, which identified Mongolia as a like-minded democratic partner in Central Asia. This synergy revived high-level exchanges in 1994 and spawned the Nomadic Elephant joint military exercises in 2004.
A defining moment came in 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first foreign leader to address Mongolia’s State Great Hural on a Sunday, a national holiday. Modi’s visit upgraded ties to a Strategic Partnership, unlocked a $1 billion Line of Credit (LoC), and yielded 14 agreements covering defense, trade, and culture.
2025: A Pivotal Year for Accelerated Cooperation
The 70th anniversary has injected fresh momentum into bilateral collaboration, yielding tangible progress across critical sectors in 2025.
In June 2025, Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh co-hosted the 17th Nomadic Elephant drills in Ulaanbaatar and inaugurated a cybersecurity training hub at the Mongolian National Defense University, strengthening joint counterterrorism efforts and digital resilience.
Mongolian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Munkhtushig Lkhanaajav and his delegation participated in the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi in March. He then co-chaired the fifth bilateral consultation to advance key pacts on renewable energy and cyber governance.
Negotiations are currently underway with Indian steel majors like JSW Steel and SAIL to lock in a long-term supply of Mongolia’s vast Tavan Tolgoi coking coal and other critical mineral reserves. This effort persists despite the significant logistical challenge of transiting shipments via Russia or China.
The upcoming visit by Khurelsukh to India is expected to be transformative, aiming to elevate the partnership to “an even higher tier.” The trip is anticipated to finalize major agreements in the digital economy, renewable energy (combining Mongolia’s solar potential with India’s technological innovation), and critical minerals.
Strategic Synergy: Aligning Visions for a Multipolar Eurasia
The core strength of the India-Mongolia partnership lies in the fundamental convergence of their strategic policies. Both nations envision a balanced, multipolar Eurasia, creating a natural alliance through their respective approaches. Mongolia’s Third Neighbor policy seeks to build robust ties beyond its two immediate, powerful neighbors, Russia and China. India’s Act East policy identifies Mongolia as a crucial democratic and strategic partner in Central Asia.
This policy synergy translates into concrete strategic advantages for both partners. For Mongolia, India offers a technologically advanced, democratic alternative, reinforcing Mongolian national sovereignty and providing a valuable counterweight to reduce overreliance on any single power. For India, Mongolia offers potential access to strategic resources, such as rare earths, and contributes to regional balance.
Multilaterally, the two nations amplify their influence through shared priorities. They align in bodies like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – where India is a member and Mongolia was a long-time “observer” until that status was scrapped at the 2025 summit – focusing on counterterrorism and connectivity initiatives. Both are leading contributors to U.N. peacekeeping missions and staunch advocates for Security Council reform. Mongolia strongly backs India’s bid for a permanent UNSC seat, reciprocating India’s support for Mongolia’s regional initiatives.
As Mongolia’s Ambassador to India Ganbold Dambajav emphasized, this powerful “strategic complementarity” acts as a “force multiplier” in times of geopolitical turbulence.
Looking ahead, the partnership is poised for significant expansion across key sectors: securing critical resources (like rare earths, copper and so on) for India’s technology sectors; agritech modernization to boost Mongolia’s agricultural sector; and high-value “Buddhist circuit” eco-tourism, leveraging the shared spiritual heritage.
Economic Cooperation: Progress and Structural Constraints
The economic dimension of the India-Mongolia partnership is gaining momentum through flagship infrastructure projects and strategic trade initiatives, yet it operates under significant structural constraints that limit India’s role as a major economic alternative.
The most significant undertaking is the Dornogobi Oil Refinery, which uses $1.7 billion of India’s Line of Credit (LoC). Slated for completion in late 2026 or early 2027, the refinery is designed to process 1.5 million tons of crude annually, aiming to cover 60 percent of Mongolia’s domestic fuel needs. Strategically, this is vital for reducing reliance on Russian imports, though the protracted timeline means dependence will continue for the foreseeable future.
Logistical barriers are being directly challenged by the launch of MIAT Mongolian Airline’s twice-weekly direct flights to Singapore starting November 4, 2025. This new air route will significantly slash transit time to third destinations in India and Southeast Asia, providing a crucial boost to trade and tourism.
Despite this progress, the partnership faces overwhelming structural hurdles. Mongolia’s landlocked geography creates a logistical chokepoint, driving up trade costs and uncertainty. All transit must pass through either Russia (a stable but lengthy route) or China (faster but sensitive to China-India geopolitical tensions).
This physical reality is reflected in the trade data. At a modest $110 million in 2024, bilateral trade with India is minuscule compared to Mongolia’s $19 billion trade with China. This dramatic disparity highlights Mongolia’s trade vulnerability and inherently restricts India’s ability to act as a substantial economic counterweight. Talks on exporting Tavan Tolgoi coking coal and other Mongolian reserves to India are a positive step, but they do not yet solve the fundamental structural issues of scale and logistics.
Defense and Security: Building Niche Interoperability
The security dimension of the Strategic Partnership is characterized by deepening military cooperation and growing institutional trust, although its scope remains confined to niche areas rather than exerting a grand strategic deterrent against the regional dominance of Russia and China.
Military collaboration, exemplified by the annual Nomadic Elephant joint exercises, launched in 2004, focuses on enhancing interoperability and counterinsurgency skills in rugged terrain. In 2025, Indian participation in Mongolia’s multilateral Khan Quest exercise further broadened this coordination beyond the bilateral scope. Institutionally, Mongolia signaled a strong commitment by appointing its first defense attaché to New Delhi, with Ambassador Ganbold encouraging India to reciprocate to ensure balanced growth in security ties.
While India actively supports Mongolia’s defense modernization by providing specialized equipment, such as cybersecurity tools and all-terrain vehicles suitable for the steppe, its capacity to provide the large-scale, high-end defense equipment required to fundamentally shift Mongolia’s military balance is limited.
Furthermore, the partnership’s multilateral efforts – such as alignment on SCO counterterrorism and Mongolia’s diplomatic support for India’s U.N. Security Council bid – reflect a shared multilateral ideal and reciprocal favors rather than an immediate security pact. Thus, Ganbold’s assertion of the partnership acting as a “force multiplier” remains more theoretical than proven in terms of hard power influence. The alliance is strategically valuable for diversification but not yet for regional deterrence.
People-to-People Ties: The Indispensable Soul of India-Mongolia Partnership
The enduring spiritual and cultural bonds between Mongolia and India form the “soul” of their relationship – an indispensable foundation that transcends trade and geographic challenges.
Shared Buddhist heritage, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, remains the most vital link. Over 400 Mongolian monks now study at 14 Indian monasteries, and Mongolia’s Education Ministry integrated native language and cultural instruction into their curriculum for these students.
Artistic connection is flourishing, exemplified by the 25th Ganga Nrit (Melody of the River Ganga) dance festival. The festival showcased a vibrant cultural link by drawing impressive participation, with over 450 Mongolian attendees.
A scientific conference on September 19, titled “Spiritual and Strategic Partners: Mongolia and India – Seven Decades of Diplomatic Relations,” underscored the commitment to academic ties. This collaborative event was jointly organized by the Institute of International Studies of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of India.
Beyond spiritual ties, medical cooperation is growing rapidly: more Mongolian patients are traveling to Delhi’s hospitals for treatment, supported by recent visa relaxations and Indian hospital representatives based in Ulaanbaatar.
Equally significant is the quality of diplomatic appointments, which reflects Ulaanbaatar’s prioritization of the relationship. Four of Mongolia’s 17 ambassadors to India served as Mongolian foreign minister, signaling high political value. Indian envoys have also shaped the partnership: the revered Ladakh Buddhist lama, the 19th Khushok Bakula Rinpoche (1990–2000), revived post-Communism Buddhism in Mongolia and guided its early democratic transition; Mohinder Pratap Singh (2019–2023) secured 150,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses and Remdesivir for Mongolia during peak COVID-19. Since March 2024, current Ambassador Atul Malhari Gotsurve has focused on accelerating economic and digital cooperation, including the Dornogobi oil refinery and bilateral IT pacts.
Complementing these efforts are people-to-people initiatives, such as Ganbold’s proposal to deploy 1,000 Indian English teachers. These complement existing scholarships and strengthen long-term ties.
Ultimately, these practical and spiritual exchanges – from medical tourism and English teacher proposals to high-caliber diplomacy – have a powerful, immediate impact on Mongolians’ quality of life, arguably more tangible than infrastructure projects funded by Lines of Credit (LoC).
Conclusion
The 70-year history of India-Mongolia diplomacy confirms that shared values and vision can decisively transcend geographic distance, forging a bond rooted in spiritual brotherhood and strategic partnership. Even as bilateral economic scale remains limited, they underscore the partnership’s strategic value: India, as a democratic, tech-driven ally, is key to Mongolia’s Third Neighbor balancing act, while Mongolia serves as a critical node for India’s Act East initiative and a potential gateway to Central Asia.
The future of the relationship, however, demands a shift from aspiration to scaled action. The trajectory will be defined by concrete milestones, notably Khurelsukh’s upcoming visit to India and the successful commissioning of the Dornogobi oil refinery.
For the partnership to truly merit its “strategic” title, it must urgently overcome two critical challenges. High-level intent must translate into rapid economic delivery. Khurelsukh’s visit must secure a rapid timeline for the Mongolian first oil refinery and firm up access to critical mineral supply chains. Meanwhile, both nations must realistically address the logistical chokepoints and marginal economic scale relative to China and Russia.
In an era of geopolitical flux, the enduring bond between India and Mongolia remains a beacon of resilience. The legacy is clear: true partnership is strengthened by common purpose, not mere proximity.