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MongoliaOther Countries
By mid-1989, Mongolia had diplomatic relations with 104
countries. From 1921 until 1948, Mongolia had only one
significant diplomatic tie, that with the Soviet Union. The
schedule followed by Mongolia in recognizing, and being
recognized by, other states demonstrated the general character of
its foreign policy and relations. The first states to be
recognized were those run by communist parties and established
after World War II. In 1955 India became the first noncommunist
state to be accorded diplomatic recognition. By 1965 nine Asian
states, along with twenty-four from Europe and Africa, had been
recognized. The decade of the 1970s was the most active
diplomatic period; forty-six countries established relations with
Mongolia.
In mid-1989 only seventeen countries, however, maintained
missions in Ulaanbaatar. They included Britain, Japan, India,
China, the Soviet Union, and East European nations. France closed
its mission because of difficulties in staffing and expenses.
Most of the other countries with continuing diplomatic relations
concurrently accredited their ambassadors to the Soviet Union--
resident in Moscow, or their ambassadors to China--resident in
Beijing. In a similar fashion, Mongolian diplomats were
responsible for diplomatic affairs with several countries: the
ambassador to Japan--resident in Tokyo, also handled matters
concerning Malaysia and Australia. The Mongolian ambassador to
Britain, resident in London, was concurrently the ambassador to
Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Mongolia established diplomatic relations with Japan in 1972.
Modest economic and cultural ties existed between the two
countries in 1989, although Batmonh occasionally expressed
interest in expanding relations. The Mongolian minister of
foreign affairs visited Japan in May 1987, seeking exchanges in
scientific, technical, and political areas. Agricultural
biotechnology was identified as a key field for cooperation. The
chairman of the People's Great Hural went to Japan to attend the
February 1989 funeral of Emperor Hirohito, Mongolia's wartime
enemy
(see Economic Gradualism and National Defense, 1932-45
, ch.
1).
After diplomatic ties had been established in 1955,
Mongolian-Indian relations were strengthened by India's strong
support for Mongolia's candidacy in the UN. During the 1970s,
bilateral relations were friendly; they were circumscribed only
by differences in the domestic and the social systems of the two
countries and by the absence of substantial people-to-people
contact. In 1981 an Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of
Culture and Science was signed, followed by the establishment in
1981 of a Center for Indian Studies in the Mongolian Academy of
Sciences. Batmonh's state visit to India in March 1989 further
strengthened bilateral ties. He and Indian prime minister Rajiv
Gandhi discussed Asia-Pacific security issues. The visit produced
an agreement on cooperation in science and technology.
Data as of June 1989
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