3월
16일 월요일 미국 디플로마트(The
Diplomat)사(社)의 편집장 제임스
파흐(James Pach) 기자가 볼가긴
알탕게렐(Bulgaagiin Altangerel=Булгаагийн Алтангэрэл) 주미(駐美) 몽골 특명 전권 대사의 독점
인터뷰 특집 기사를 사진과 함께 상세히 실었다. 대한민국도 슬쩍 언급되어 있는 흥미로운 기사이기에, 이에, 본 기자가
한민족 구성원들의 몽골 이해에 도움이 되기를 바라면서 한글 번역으로
전재한다.

▲미국 디플로마트(The Diplomat)사(社) 공식 로고.     ©알렉스 강 몽골 특파원

외교적 접근(Diplomatic Access) :
몽골
볼가긴 알탕게렐(Bulgaagiin Altangerel=Булгаагийн
Алтангэрэл) 주미(駐美) 몽골 특명 전권 대사, 아시아를 위한 몽골이 지향하는 비전(Vision)을
말하다

2015년 봄철을 맞아, 본지(The Diplomat)는
미국 주재 아시아-태평양 지역 국가의 특명 전권 대사들과의 일련의 독점 인터뷰, 일명 “외교적 접근(Diplomatic Access)”을 기획해
전재합니다. 이런 외교관들과의 대화를 통해, 본지는, 환태평양 경제 동반자 협정(環太平洋 包括的 經濟 同伴者
協定=TPP=Trans-Pacific Partnership)에서부터 비단길(Silk Road) 경제 벨트 관련 정보에 이르기까지,
남중국해(南中國海) 관련 분쟁에서부터 이슬람 국가(Islamic State) 발호 사태에 이르기까지, 이런 모든 주제들을 망라하는 다양한 지역의
경제 및 안보 트렌드에 대해 각 국가가 지향하는 관점을 독자 여러분께 제공해 드릴 예정입니다. 기획 기사로 연달아 전재될 본지의 독점 기사들을
주의 깊게 확인해 주시기 바랍니다. 본지의 첫 번째 인터뷰는, 볼가긴 알탕게렐(Bulgaagiin AltangerelBulgaagiin
AltangerelBulgaagiin Altangerel) 주미(駐美) 몽골 특명 전권 대사를 상대로 진행됐으며, 볼가긴
알탕게렐(Bulgaagiin Altangerel) 주미(駐美) 몽골 특명 전권 대사는 아시아-태평양 지역에서의 몽골의 역할과 그 역할 수행을
위해 몽골이 지향하는 비전(Vision)의 총체적인 개요를 본 인터뷰를 통해 본지(The Diplomat)에 제공해 주었습니다.

▲지난 2013년 1월 14일 월요일, 볼가긴 알탕게렐 주미(駐美) 몽골 특명 전권 대사(Ambassador of Mongolia to the U.S.Bulgaagiin Altangerel=Булгаагийн Алтангэрэл)가 미국 워싱턴 백악관에서 버락 오바마 미국 대통령(왼쪽, US preident Barack Obama=АНУ-ын  ерөнхийлөгч Барак Обама)에게 신임장을 제정한 뒤 같이 포즈를 취했다. (사진=미국 백악관=U.S. White House).    © 알렉스 강 몽골 특파원

English
language

Diplomatic Access :
Mongolia
Mongolian Ambassador to the U.S. Bulgaagiin
Altangerel discusses Mongolia’s vision for
Asia

For spring 2015, The Diplomat presents “Diplomatic
Access, ” a series of exclusive interviews with ambassadors from the
Asia-Pacific region. By talking to these diplomats, we’ll give readers a sense
of each country’s perspective on various regional economic and security trends —
from TPP to the Silk Road Economic Belt ; from the South China Sea disputes to
the Islamic State. Check out the whole series to date
here.

In our first interview, His Excellency Bulgaagiin
Altangerel, Ambassador of Mongolia to the U.S., gives The Diplomat an overview
of Mongolia’s vision for and role in the
Asia-Pacific.

▲President Barack Obama receives Ambassador of Mongolia to the U.S. Bulgaagiin Altangerel, during an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony in the Oval Office.White House Image/Lawrence Jackson / Jan 14, 2013.    © Alex E. KANG

The Diplomat : From
Mongolia’s perspective, what are the biggest threats to regional
security?
Amb. Altangerel : The Northeast Asian region
is special in many ways. It is a region where the Cold war legacies still
remain, where there is the dilemma of divided states, nuclear issues, and a
number of territorial disputes. In addition to these underlying security issues,
the presence of violent extremism, terrorism, environmental degradation,
poverty, widening inequality gap, and rapid urbanization are becoming real
challenges to the region’s lasting stability. These are real issues that if not
addressed in a timely manner could pose a real threat to the
region.

How can these threats be
addressed?
These threats are all manageable. To manage
them we need confidence-building and transparency. We need to stick to the
standing international norms and means in dealing with issues. Open and
inclusive dialogues must replace forceful actions. Ways to resolve them should
be discussed at every level : government, international organization, NGO and
academic. The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is a form of this
attempt.

What role will the
Ulaanbaatar Dialogue play in Mongolia’s vision for regional security
cooperation?
President Ts. Elbegdorj initiated the
Ulaanbaatar Dialogue. It is a regional confidence building measure that promotes
an open platform for regional and non-regional countries to exchange views and
communicate on issues relating to Northeast Asia security, cooperation, and
peace.

Since the launch of the
initiative, Mongolia has organized a series of events, such as the Northeast
Asian Women Parliamentarians meeting in 2013 and the Forum of the Northeast
Asian City Mayors in 2014.

The track-two International Conference on the
Northeast Asian Security, held in June 2014, was attended by scholars and
academics from many countries including Mongolia, DPRK, Republic of Korea,
China, Russia, Japan, U.S., the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Participants discussed various issues of regional security including the Korean
Peninsula issue. This conference received a very positive
feedback.

How will Mongolia contribute to resolving
regional issues, including the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear
program?
Mongolia has maintained friendly and close
relations with the countries in the Northeast Asian region including the two
Koreas. Mongolia and North Korea, other than realizing high level visits, engage
in educational and academic, artistic and athletic exchanges among our scholars,
students and youth. There are no border disputes or unsettled issues of any
kind, neither with Russia nor with China, the only two neighbors of Mongolia. We
enjoy a nuclear-free status, which is formally recognized by the five Permanent
Members of the UN Security Council. We hope these circumstances can offer a
leverage in resolving the regional
issues.

As we all know, the Korean Peninsula
denuclearization is the most challenging issue in the region. Mongolia advocates
and supports the principles of denuclearization and non-proliferation. These
principles have been reflected not only in Mongolia’s foreign policy priorities
but in its national legislation. In 1992, Mongolia became the first country in
the world to unilaterally proclaim its territory as a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council pledged in a joint
declaration to respect Mongolia’s nuclear free status in
2012.

Mongolia has
consistently supported the six-party talks and every effort toward a
nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Mongolia is optimistic that re-starting the
six-party talks will contribute significantly to the regional security.

In the past three
years, Mongolia has hosted visits from the U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary
of Defense. How are Mongolia-U.S. relations progressing under President Obama’s
“rebalance to Asia” strategy?
Indeed, high profile
visits as well as side meetings at the highest level are frequent between our
two countries. Today Mongolia and the United States enjoy sound political and
economic relations. Mongolia considers the United States as its most important
“third neighbor. ” Both countries work toward developing cooperation on the
principles of a comprehensive partnership that is based on our common values and
shared strategic interests. The U.S. has always extended enduring and unwavering
support toward Mongolia in every aspect and for that we are grateful.

We are committed to addressing our shared economic, security
and development interests through multilateral institutions in the Asia-Pacific.
We stand united in our efforts to protect and promote freedom, democracy, and
human rights worldwide. Our troops serve side-by-side in Iraq, and now in
Afghanistan. Our peacekeepers are deployed together in conflict prone African
countries.

Mongolia and the U.S. signed Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement in 2004 and the Transparency Agreement between our countries was
ratified by the Mongolian Parliament in 2014. Given this legal foundation, there
is a real chance to enhance our trade and economic cooperation with the U.S. and
to bring more U.S. investment into Mongolia.

As of today, the U.S. is our fourth largest trading partner
with a half billion USD in total trade turnover. However, with a direct
investment amount of $300 million, it is only the eighth largest investor in
Mongolia. This number needs to be increased.

This brings us to the extent that Mongolia is already an
active part to the pivot
strategy.

In this regard, expressing
interest and joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement could be a good
opportunity for Mongolia to enhance its trade and economic relations with the
U.S.

What goals does Mongolia
have for trilateral talks with Russia and China?
Our
foreign policy priorities are to maintain friendly and balanced relations with
our neighbors, China and Russia ; to expand our partnership through our “third
neighbor” policy ; to work closely with the countries of the Asia Pacific
region, and to play an active role in the international arena.

Mongolia maintains a historic, traditional, comprehensive
and at the same time a strategic relation with Russia and China.

Last year President Ts. Elbegdorj proposed the first ever
trilateral summit between Mongolia, Russia and China, and it was held in 2014 on
sidelines of the 14th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in
Dushanbe.

Both countries are the largest trading partners of Mongolia.
In the modern world, Mongolia sees its landlocked location between Russia and
China as an opportunity to link them. Also the geographic proximity provides
good opportunity for Mongolian products and services to access their markets.

What is the outlook for Mongolia’s bid to join
APEC? What would being added to the APEC bloc mean for Mongolia
economically?
Being an Asia-Pacific country with a
growing economy, Mongolia has an enduring aspiration to become a member of APEC.
As a premier forum for facilitating economic cooperation, trade and investment
in the Asia-Pacific, APEC’s impact is huge on the Mongolian economy. Let me
quote a few numbers for a better picture. The APEC economies account for 90
percent of Mongolia’s foreign trade turnover ; China, Canada and Russia make up
96.4 percent of Mongolia’s exports ; Russia, China, U.S., Japan and the ROK
account for 76.8 percent of Mongolia’s imports. Our neighbors (China and Russia)
are the only gateway to sea. The APEC economies also dominate FDI inflows to
Mongolia : China, Singapore, Canada, ROK, the U. S, Russia, Hong Kong,
Australia, and Japan are among our top 12 investment partners.

Membership in APEC would provide an
excellent opportunity to expand and diversify our trade and investment through
removing tariff and non-tariff barriers. For the APEC family, it would be
expanded by a country with democratic governance, growing economy, rich natural
resources, and a strategic
location.

▲Translated in Korean by Alex E. KANG, who is a Korean Correspondent to Mongolia certified by the MFA=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, led by Minister L. Purevsuren).     © Alex E. KANG