1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Korean Association for Mongolian Studies and the Embassy of Mongolia in Korea, held an international academic conference from March 26 to 27 in commemoration of the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Mongolia.

° The conference, held in a hybrid online and offline format due to the COVID-19 situation, brought together some 60 Korean and foreign experts in Mongolian studies, including Director-General for Northeast Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Choi Hee-deok, Chair of the Korean Association for Mongolian Studies Park Sohyun, and Ambassador of Mongolia to Korea Erdenetuya.

2. In his congratulatory remarks, Director-General Choi noted with appreciation that Korea and Mongolia, the Korean government’s major partner for cooperation on its New Northern Policy and "Northeast Asia Cooperation for Health Security (NEACS)," have been working closely together not only on the bilateral level but also on the multilateral stage. He went on to ask experts of the two countries to pay continued attention and render support as the two countries take their relations to a higher level.

3. At the academic conference themed “Retrospect and Prospect on Korean Mongolian Studies over 30 Years in the New Northern Era,” experts from the governments and academic circles of the two countries will have in-depth discussions on the full range of matters concerning Korea-Mongolia relations and Mongolian studies -- “Research Achievements & Prospects in Mongolia Area Studies” in Session I, “Retrospect and Prospect of Research Exchange in the History of Korea-Mongolia and Archaeology in Mongolia” in Session II, “Results and Prospects of Mongolian Linguistics and Literature Research” in Session III, “Korea-Mongolia Exchange and Research Results and Prospects in the Art Culture and Folklore” in Session IV, and “A Study on Mongolian Studies and Innovation Strategies of the Academic Future Generations” in Session V.

4. The academic conference held to mark the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Mongolia is expected to serve as a significant opportunity to review research achievements in various areas, including not only political and foreign affairs but also linguistics, history and culture, and to explore ways to step up substantive cooperation between the two countries in the future in a way that helps advance the bilateral relations over the next 30 years.