Ulaanbaatar, 9 July 2025 – At the invitation of Mongolia’s Foreign Minister, H.E. Battsetseg Batmunkh, ERIA President Tetsuya Watanabe participated in the Mongolia Economic Forum (MEF) 2025, held in Ulaanbaatar from 8 to 9 July. The invitation followed her official visit to ERIA’s office earlier this year.

The MEF is Mongolia’s premier platform for open dialogue on economic development and reform. This year’s forum, co-chaired by Prime Minister H.E. Zandanshatar Gombojav, convened senior government officials, business leaders, and international experts to discuss strategic policy priorities and investment opportunities in a rapidly changing global environment.

President Watanabe joined the plenary session on ‘Strategic Resources and Global Supply Chains’, alongside the Deputy Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament), the Minister of Industry and Natural Resources, and representatives from the private sector.

Drawing on Southeast Asia’s experience, he underscored the importance of aligning natural resource management with industrial policy, citing Indonesia’s mineral downstreaming strategy as a model.

‘Mongolia could adopt a similarly strategic approach – adapted to its own context – by strengthening domestic processing capacity and developing value chains around key resources such as copper, lithium, and rare earth elements,’ he said.

These critical minerals, he noted, are essential to the future of electric vehicles, AI chips, quantum computing, and clean energy systems.

President Watanabe also highlighted the potential for greater collaboration between Mongolia and Southeast and East Asian countries in areas such as investment, infrastructure, and technology transfer.

On the sidelines of the forum, he spoke to Mongolian media on the country’s evolving role in global value chains and had a brief exchange with Prime Minister Zandanshatar at the official reception dinner.

In May 2025, ERIA and Mongolia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on capacity building and enhanced engagement with ASEAN and East Asia. The partnership reflects ERIA’s commitment to supporting Mongolia’s long-term development goals and strengthening regional cooperation.