Lee meets Mongolian parliament speaker, says 'role of legislature is crucial'

President Lee Jae Myung met with Mongolian National Assembly Speaker Sandagiin Byambatsogt at a hotel in Ulaanbaatar on Friday (local time) during his state visit to Mongolia, saying "the role of the legislature is very important" and urging the speaker to "take a keen interest in and offer strong support for the development of Korea-Mongolia relations."

Lee had met Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Thursday. He then received Byambatsogt — the second-highest-ranking official in Mongolia — and said he had "very high expectations for the development of Korea-Mongolia relations."

Byambatsogt responded that "this visit will serve as a very important occasion for opening a golden era in the relationship between the two countries."

He said a large number of Mongolians live abroad, with the largest share — some 60,000 people — residing in South Korea, and added that since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1990, exchanges in the areas of economy, culture and education had "dynamically expanded and developed."

The speaker also expressed strong interest in the health care sector, saying many Mongolians travel to South Korea to receive high-quality medical services. He highlighted progress made during the visit regarding Mongolia's National Cancer Center No. 2, saying the facility "will play a very important role in further advancing Mongolia's health care services going forward."