FOREIGN MINISTER PUREVSUREN: (Via interpreter) We welcome you, United States Secretary of State John Kerry, to our country, and it is our distinct pleasure to welcome you to my country. Mongolia has always sought to develop our relationship with United States, and in our foreign policy, it is very important to develop our relationship with our third neighbor, the United States – important third neighbor. In 2017 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and celebrating historic and fruitful partnership.
So I should add to that (inaudible) Mongolia thankful for the continued support from the U.S. since Mongolia’s transition (inaudible).
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you. Thank you, my friend. It’s a great pleasure for me to be able to be here in Mongolia. It’s good to see you again. And let me express on behalf of President Obama and all Americans our gratitude for the enormous efforts that you are making to develop a democracy, to be a global citizen, to work on peacekeeping, work on Afghanistan, to be sharing lessons with Kyrgyzstan, with Burma, with Myanmar. You’re really reaching out in a significant way, and we’re delighted to be, in a sense, your third significant friend, if you will. I understand with your geography you have automatically significant relationships with both China and Russia. But you’ve chosen actively to be a democracy and you’re pursuing that with vigor, and we look forward very much to continuing to work with you.
