President Nataša Pirc Musar started a three-day state visit to Mongolia on 20 August, the first visit by a Slovenian head of state to the country. The desire is to strengthen dialogue and enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Accompanied by a business delegation, Pirc Musar talked about ways to enhance cooperation in business, tourism, research, climate change mitigation, sustainable development and women's empowerment.

Following a meeting with her counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, the president said that both countries are committed to democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and both are also strong supporters of multilateralism and respect for international law.

According to her, the two countries pursue similar goals in the international arena, while facing similar challenges.

"Last winter was one of the harshest in recent years for Mongolia, while Slovenia was hit by catastrophic floods last year. Such challenges require closer cooperation and ties between like-minded countries, solidarity is needed and diplomatic efforts must be strengthened," she said.

Pirc Musar expressed satisfaction that Slovenia can share knowledge and experience with Mongolia in sustainable forest management as part of an ongoing project aimed at transferring knowledge to women in rural areas. She recalled that last year Slovenia also conducted training for Mongolian peacekeepers on gender equality.

"Slovenia highly values Mongolia's leading role in gender equality and empowering women and girls in society, and welcomes the organisation of the World Women's Forum," said the president, who will appear as a guest of honour at the forum on 22 August.

The accompanying business delegation will discuss how to enter the Mongolian market with partners at a business forum on 21 August, which will be also attended by representatives of companies that are already present in Mongolia, such as drug maker Krka and honey product maker Medex.

The visit by Pirc Musar comes after Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh was in Slovenia in May 2023 to attend a diplomatic conference at which the Ljubljana-The Hague convention on combat against international crime was adopted.