Page | 62exporter to the United States, but in the years since then Mongolia has imported
significantly more from the U.S. than it exports.^328
The U.S. has additionally helped Mongolia develop its military forces. Much of this
assistance has targeted peacekeeping capabilities, as Mongolia faces no real internal or
external threats.
Relations With Neighboring Countries
Russia
In the decade following the dissolution of the
Soviet Union, Mongolia’s relationship with
Moscow evolved toward one in which the two
nations were on more equal footing. However,
even as Mongolia developed strong relations with
other East Asian nations, such as Japan and South
Korea, it continued to retain important strategic
ties with Moscow. The greater balance in the
bilateral relationship was formalized in 1993
through the signing of a Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation.
Moscow’s investment in Mongolia during the Cold War era left Mongolia with a legacy
of massive debt from Soviet loans. Several key Mongolian economic assets, including the
huge copper mine complex at Erdenet and the Trans-Mongolian Railway, remained under
joint Mongolian-Russian ownership.^329 In 2003, the Russian government agreed to write
off virtually all of Mongolia’s large debt to Russia, estimated at one time to be as high as
USD 11 billion. A remaining USD 180 million debt was later written off by the Kremlin
in October 2010.^330
Mongolia remains very dependent on Russia for its energy needs. Imports from Russia
provide roughly 95% of Mongolia’s petroleum products, and the Russian electricity
exporter, Inter RAO, generates about 8% of the power consumed in Mongolia.
331, 332
(^328) U.S. Census Bureau, “Trade in Goods With Mongolia,” 2011,
http://www.census.gov/foreign-
trade/balance/c5740.html
(^329) Sergei Blagov, “Russia Struggles to Develop New Joint Ventures With Mongolia,” Eurasian Daily
Monitor 7, no. 199, 3 November 2010,
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=37125
(^330) Sergei Blagov, “Russia Struggles to Develop New Joint Ventures With Mongolia,” Eurasian Daily
Monitor 7, no. 199, 3 November 2010,
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=37125
(^331) Central Intelligence Agency, “Mongolia: Economy,” in The World Factbook, 6 April 2011,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mg.html