ROK to help Mongolia with combating air pollution

ULAN BATOR, Jan.16 (Xinhua) -- The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) is willing to support Mongolia on combating air pollution in its capital city, the Mongolian government press office said Tuesday.

The ROK's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon expressed the desire during talks with visiting Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaa Hurelsukh.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of bilateral relations and cooperation documents.

The ROK government will grant a soft loan worth 500 million U.S. dollars within the framework of Extended Fund Facility arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. The loan must be repaid over a 30-year period with a 10-year grace period and an interest rate of 0.2 percent.

According to Hurelsukh, this money would be spent on reducing air pollution in Ulan Bator.

In addition, the two sides also agreed to work together to intensify cooperation in the labor sector in order to prepare skilled labor and job opportunities.

Relations between Mongolia and the ROK have constantly improved since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990.

Bilateral trade volume stood at 700 million dollars in 2017, with an increase of 1.4 percent.

Hurelsukh arrived for a three-day official visit to the ROK on Monday at an invitation of his ROK counterpart Lee Nak-yeon. This is Hurelsukh's first overseas trip since he took office in last October. Enditem