WU BANGGUO RECEIVES PRIME MINISTER

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag Thursday called on Mr Wu Bangguo, the Chairman and Party secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China. The Premier expressed satisfaction with meeting with Mr Bangguo, and hoped that the visit will significantly contribute to deepening of the Mongolia-China strategic partnership and to forwarding the inter-parliamentary ties. In response, Mr Wu Bangguo thanked the Prime Minister for his long-year efforts to develop the bilateral trade and economic relations, and conveyed to Mr Altankhuyag a greeting from Mr Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of the PRC. Saying he visits Mongolia for the first time, Mr Bangguo said he saw Mongolia's intensive economic development. "Mongolia is an important neighbour of China, and our countries are on the start of the great construction and new development". Mongolia has advantages as wealthy mineral resources, China has capitals and technologies, and it means that the two countries can closely cooperate in the commercial and economic sectors, Mr Bangguo noted. China is ready to let its biggest companies participate in the great construction in Mongolia, he went on, emphasizing an importance of clarification and stability of the legal basis for the cooperation and investments. The Prime Minister said Mongolia's governments of many generations always maintain a policy as to develop with China the friendly relationship of good neighbours and the equal and mutually beneficial cooperation. He expressed satisfaction with transmitting of the bilateral ties into the strategic level, and underlined an importance of keeping a frequency of high level visits and talks. "Our countries have good opportunities to expand the trade and economic cooperation, especially in the mining, infrastructure, energy, oil and agriculture," he said. Present at the meeting were D.Terbishdagva, the Deputy Premier of Mongolia and head of the Mongolia-China intergovernmental commssion; Kh.Temuujin, the Minister of Justice; N.Batbayar, the Minister of Economic Development; M.Sonompil, the Minister of Energy; M.Enkhbold, a Vice Speaker of Parliament; G.Bayarsaikhan MP, a head of the Standing commitee; S.Byambatsogt, a member of the Mongolia-China inter-parliamentary group; D.Gankhuyag, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ts.Sukhbaatar, the Ambassador of Mongolia to China; E.Dolgoon, an advisor to the Premier on foreign policy; Ts.Narantungalag, a head of the External relations and cooperation section of the Parliamentary Office; also Wei Liucheng, a deputy head of the Financial and Economic Commission of the NPC; Cao Weizhou, Deputy Secretary-General of the NPC Standing Committee; Zhang Zhijun, the Vice Foreign Minister of China; Zhong Shan, Vice Minister of Commerce; and Wang Xiaolong, the Ambassador of China. B.Khuder