Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene of Mongolia said during a visit to Washington on Wednesday that his country will expand its collaboration with the United States to mine rare earths, but he also cautioned that a “new Cold War” between the United States and China would be detrimental to the world economy.
Large rare earth and copper reserves exist in Mongolia, which are essential for high-tech products like defense gear and President Joe Biden’s initiatives to electrify the auto industry in an effort to halt climate change.
Following his meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Oyun-Erdene talked to Reuters and announced his intention to sign a “Open Skies” civil aviation deal along with commitments to deepen economic cooperation.
Through a translator, Oyun-Erdene added, “We have talked about how we may work together in the mining of rare earths and other important minerals, like copper.
The cooperation between his country’s ministry of mining and heavy industry and the U.S. State Department, which he called Mongolia’s “important strategic third neighbour,” was already in place and would be strengthened as a result of a memorandum of understanding signed in June, according to him, regarding rare earths and critical minerals.
Oyun-Erdene cautioned that nations like his own, which is landlocked between China and Russia, would suffer if superpower competition erupted. China, a neighbour of Mongolia and the owner of the majority of the world’s rare earth reserves, aspires to have good relations with both the U.S. and its neighbour.
In light of the rapid advancement of technology and global issues like climate change, he declared, “I fear that the next Cold War will be quite different from the first Cold War and (more challenging). A new Cold War situation is unacceptably unwelcome.
He urged major powers to “be more responsible” in order to prevent “drastic negative effects on many countries around the world, especially the international economy.”
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is in discussions with Oyun-Erdene’s nation about potential investments and collaboration in the space and electric vehicle industries, but the tech tycoon will not be in attendance.
The date of the Mongolian leader’s next trip, he said, was still being finalized, but he intended to fly to California and meet Musk and other key figures in the tech sector.
Musk’s interest in Mars, which the billionaire has stated a desire to colonise, was brought up by him.
The Gobi Desert in Mongolia, which has a climate akin to Mars, is an intriguing topic that I addressed with Mr. Elon Musk, and I encouraged him to look into it, he said.
Oyun-Erdene is scheduled to visit NASA during his stay and is anticipated to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In his remarks, he referred to the United States as Mongolia’s “guiding Polar Star for our democratic journey” and stated that the topic of his discussions will be “how we can further enhance our democratic values.”
To confront China’s expanding might and the so-called “no limits” alliance between Beijing and Moscow, the Biden administration has placed a priority on strengthening its ties with nations around Asia.
