After hitting last year’s target, Türkiye and Mongolia are aiming to push their trade volume to at least $500 million (TL 9.49 billion) in the coming period before the two countries celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties, according to their top diplomats.

"Next year, Türkiye and Mongolia will celebrate the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, and therefore investment deals signed beforehand need to be revised and updated," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at a joint presser with his Mongolian counterpart Batmunkh Battsetseg following a one-on-one meeting, notably the first of its kind 31 years, in the capital Ankara on Monday.

"We have discussed bilateral relations and underlined that these need to be improved by cooperating on many fields," Çavuşoğlu informed, noting as steps to be taken include the increase of civilian and cargo flights, boosting quotas for land transports and eliminating obstacles in front of trade, as well as in education and culture, mainly due to historical and cultural ties between the two nations.

Türkiye offered Mongolia to elevate our bilateral ties from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership, and we are waiting for their answer," Çavuşoğlu revealed.

"We also inked three agreements today, which we will expand and deepen in the future," he assured. "We discussed advancing defense industry cooperation, as well, and we are prepared to provide every support to Mongolia on this matter."

Çavuşoğlu further thanked Mongolia for their support in the wake of the Feb. 6 earthquakes that left over 48,000 dead in Türkiye’s southeast.

"A 37-person team from Mongolia rescued eight people from the rubble in the Hatay province," Çavuşoğlu informed, adding that the country supplied tents, including traditional Mongolian tents, for the victims.

"We are especially grateful to the Mongolian people who have continued their humanitarian support to Türkiye since day one," he said.

The Turkish diplomat said he also thanked Battsetseg for Mongolia’s help in fighting the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and that Battsetseg confirmed no FETÖ member was left in the country.

"We have cooperated in the fight against terrorism before, and there have been conflicts in the past because of this, but this group is a threat to everyone, not just Türkiye. It’s a threat for Mongolia, as well," Çavuşoğlu said. "Some of their schools in Mongolia were taken over by a shell company in Germany. Therefore, we gave them a friendly warning to be always vigilant about FETÖ."

In light of Mongolia’s potential of joining the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) as an observer member, Çavuşoğlu said the organization was working to reinforce ties with all Asian nations and institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and reinstate a holistic approach to the region with more than 1,000 concrete projects.

For her part, Battsetseg emphasized that the Mongolian people "stand in harmony with Türkiye" and affirmed she and Çavuşoğlu agreed on "working to achieve a strategic partnership and carry out mutual, high-level visits on the 55th anniversary of our diplomatic relations."

"We also reached a consensus on collaborating for projects that could symbolize bilateral relations," Battsetseg said.

"The contribution of Türkiye’s humanitarian, diplomatic activity to the global community has been proven, be it during the COVID-19 pandemic, be it in the Russia-Ukraine war," she concluded.