to talk up U.S. interest in getting a bigger slice of Mongolia’s exports of those materials. The visit didn’t land any deals, but the Biden administration sees Mongolia as a candidate for the Minerals Security Partnership, an initiative with 14 mostly Western countries to bolster sustainable investment in the mining, processing and recycling of critical minerals.
For Ouyen-Erdene, his Washington exposure “is very much for domestic consumption — to give more credibility to the prime minister by showing he’s on par with other world leaders,” said Adiya, the former Mongolian diplomat.Flying from Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar to Washington, D.C., is a pricey test of long haul endurance.