G.Damdinyam, Member of the State Great Hural and Head of the Mongolian-Canadian parliamentary friendship group, and H.Ganhuyag, Member of the State Great Hural, met with the Honourable Welpon Epp, Assistant Deputy Minister (Indio-Pacific), Global Affairs Canada, and Ms.Sandra Choufani, Ambassador of Canada to Mongolia.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr.Damdinyam mentioned that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and congratulated Mr.Epp and Ms.Choufani on the occasion. He also said that in anticipation of the anniversary, a delegation led by the Speaker of the Senate of the Canadian Parliament paid an official visit to Mongolia last year, during which the two sides held official talks, and agreed to organize mutual visits, meetings and events aimed at expanding relations between the citizens of the two countries. Furthermore, Mr.Damdinnyam noted that the relations and cooperation between the two countries have developed actively based on common values of democracy and common interests for peace and stability.

In response, Mr.Epp, thanked the two members of the State Great Hural for taking the time to meet with him, even though they are busy with the approval of the next year's state budget. He also commended Mr.Damdinnyam for his leadership in revising the Law on Education of Mongolia during his tenure as Head of the Standing Committee on Education, Culture, Science and Sports of the State Great Hural, and said that there is no doubt that major legal reforms have been made in the education sector. Mr.Epp furthermore said that he will pay special attention to educational cooperation between the two countries, including the implementation of student exchange programs.

During the meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen friendly relations and cooperation between Mongolia and Canada in the areas of education and tourism, and exchanged views on the possibility of facilitating visa procedures for the citizens of both countries for purposes of expanding economic relations, reports the Media and Public Relations Department of the State Great Hural.