In recognition of Mongolia and India’s 70 years of diplomatic relations, Mongolia’s President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa paid four-day state visit to India from October 13-16. It was the first visit to India by a Mongolian president in six years.
During Khurelsukh’s visit to New Delhi, Mongolia and India held high-level talks and reiterated their mutual commitment to strengthen the 2015 Strategic Partnership. Mongolia and India, as partners with strong cultural and spiritual links, hope to increase their engagement both economically and in multilateral forums.
India was the first noncommunist state to recognize the Mongolian People’s Republic in 1955. More recently, ties were raised to the level of a Strategic Partnership when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Mongolia in 2015.
Despite these milestones, ties have remained below their potential. India’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific could open a major door for Mongolia. Khurelsukh’s visit, although not the first by Mongolian president, demonstrates the expansion of Mongolia’s foreign policy, and its further aim to be a player in the Indo-Pacific. In particular, landlocked Mongolia is seeking greater maritime access.
During the official talks between Khurelsukh and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the Strategic Partnership, based on “shared values of democracy, freedom, and mutual respect.” The India-Mongolia joint statement particularly focused on trade, energy, infrastructure, green development, education, and culture.
On October 16, the India-Mongolia Business Forum was co-organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Embassy of Mongolia in India. The forum showcased Mongolia as an attractive investment destination, particularly in coking coal, gold, copper, and critical minerals. Mongolia’s Deputy Prime Minister Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan invited Indian businesses to explore diverse sectors such as railroad, animal husbandry, fintech, technology, banking and finance, disaster risk reduction, and the mining sector at large.
Rajoli Siddharth Jayaprakash, a Eurasian Studies Initiative Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, described India’s cooperation with Mongolia as “rather interesting.” He explained: “While trade volumes remain on the lower end, the interest in India to strengthen engagement with Ulaanbaatar has increased and can be particularly reflected in the minerals segment, where there is also an Indian private sector presence [by] major players such as Adani, Hindalco, Vedanta, and JSW Steel.”
Mongolia can be a source of critical raw materials for India’s steel and technology industries. For example, in 2024, the Mongolian and the Indian governments discussed possible cooperation in Mongolian exports of coking coal. Khurelsukh’s visit included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Geology and Mineral Resources between the Ministry of Mines of India and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of Mongolia. The goal, the joint statement said, is to “lay the groundwork for collaboration in exporting Mongolia’s key mineral resources to the Indian market, including coking coal and copper.”
India is also helping to jump start Mongolia’s oil industry. The Mongolia-India joint oil refinery in Dornogovi is being funding by a $1.7 billion line of credit from the Indian government. When completed in 2027, the refinery aims to process 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually. This will help address Mongolia’s dependency on Russian oil.
Beyond fossil fuels, the two partners also discussed cooperation on clean energy. During the bilateral talk, Khurelsukh praised India’s active participation and engagement in global energy solutions. He then announced Mongolia was joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The ISA was established in Paris in 2015 as a collaborative mechanism between India and France to find and implement solar energy solutions. Ulaanbaatar’s joining the ISA is an important indicator of Mongolia’s determination to accelerate its transition to diverse, renewable energy. It helps that Mongolia is strengthening its relations with both co-founders, India and France.
In India’s Eurasian strategy, Mongolia’s vast natural resources and its democratic, open society make it a natural partner. And Khurelsukh’s visit had impeccable timing, coming just over a month after Modi’s attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit showcase a warming of India-Russia and China-Russia relations. India’s improved ties with Mongolia’s direct neighbors can create other avenues of cooperation given Mongolia’s landlocked position.
One of the major agreements reached during Khurelsukh’s visit was the establishment of the third-neighbor port. The head of press at the Office of the President, Zolbayar Ulziibayar, wrote that “the two sides agreed to utilize the third-neighbor ports, transportation transits, and have direct flights between the two countries.” Having access to ports in “third neighbor” countries is strategically important for Mongolia, given its landlocked geographical limitations.
In a symbolic gesture to commemorate the people-to-people relations between Mongolia and India, Modi and Khurelsukh planted a memorial tree. The gesture also indicated Modi’s support for Mongolia’s “One Billion Trees” initiative, Khurelsukh’s signature initiative to combat climate change. India, too, has a similar initiative called “One Tree for Mother [Earth].”
In an interview with the press, Foreign Minister of Mongolia Batsetseg Batmunkh highlighted that “even though Mongolia and India are celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, our ties began 2,500 years ago. India is the sole country that Mongolia has a special spiritual link [with].”
In official parlance, the two countries describe their relationship as “Spiritual Neighbors” as well as Strategic Partners. In 1990, when the Embassy of India first opened its doors in Ulaanbaatar, the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, an Indian Buddhist lama, was appointed as ambassador.
To modernize this 2,000-plus-year-old connection, Mongolia and India have agreed to digitalize 1 million ancient manuscripts and connect India’s Nalanda University to Mongolia’s Gandan Monastery. As thousands of Buddhists make a pilgrimage to India each year, this is a major step in strengthening Buddhism in both countries. The Modi government also plan to build a library in Gandan Monastery and will finance the renovation of the Bogd Khan Museum.
Mongolia’s push to advance relations with India also includes strengthening people-to-people relations in education. As the joint statement noted, India’s “Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre of Excellence in Information Technology, Communication and Outsourcing will enable the training of over 1,000 Mongolian youth annually in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and related fields.” During Khurelsukh’s visit, India also agreed to providing training to an additional 70 Mongolian nationals under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Program for 2025–2026.
Khurelsukh’s visit to India was accompanied by numerous cultural events, including a “Beautiful Homeland of Mongolia” concert, a painting exhibition, and a morin khuur (Mongolian horsehead fiddle) exhibition.
Finally, India and Mongolia have been strengthening their defense ties. India has been a long-time supporter of Mongolia’s military diplomacy and peacekeeping on the world stage. Mongolia and India have a bilateral military drill, called Nomadic Elephant, and India also participates in Mongolia’s multinational exercise, Khaan Quest.
A new mechanism that will bolster defense ties between the two countries is India’s decision to post a defense attaché in Ulaanbaatar. The new post aims to “launch a new capacity-building program, which will support Mongolia’s border security forces.”
Amid notable geopolitical shifts, India is giving greater impetus to strengthening relations in Eurasia, especially with fellow democracies like Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar, in return, hopes to accelerate economic activities and receive greater investment from India. As the joint statement put it, both sides are seeking to “advance their shared vision of a stronger Strategic Partnership that contributes to peace, prosperity, and stability in the region and the world in the decade ahead.”