First time in a decade, Mongolian President to visit India

Mongolia's President Khaltmaagiin Battulga will be on a five-day state visit to India from September 19-23. 

The last time a Mongolian President visited India was in 2009 when the then Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj visited India.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, "During the visit, the two sides will hold in-depth discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues and will also review ongoing cooperation in fields of infrastructure, energy, disaster management, defence, security, culture and capacity building."

"India-Mongolia Strategic Partnership is based on the ideals of freedom and democracy and on a strong foundation of our shared Buddhist heritage," the statement said.

Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and  President Battulga had met on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.

India is helping the landlocked country build an oil refinery through a line of credit announced during PM Modi's visit to the country. 

In 2015, PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country.

Mongolia, which is landlocked between Russia and China considers India as its "third neighbour" with which it has a spiritual connection.

Last few years have seen a number of high-level visits from India to Mongolia, including the visit of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in April 2018, former home minister Rajnath Singh on June 2018 and former minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju in July 2018.