A resolution reaffirming the strategic partnership between the United States and Mongolia and recognizing the 30th anniversary of democracy in Mongolia.

III 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 36 Reaffirming the strategic partnership between the United States and Mongolia and recognizing the 30th anniversary of democracy in Mongolia. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations MARCH 24, 2021 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble APRIL 15, 2021 Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble RESOLUTION Reaffirming the strategic partnership between the United States and Mongolia and recognizing the 30th anniver- sary of democracy in Mongolia. Whereas the United States and Mongolia established diplo- matic relations in January 1987, and since that time the relationship has grown stronger based on shared strategic interests, security cooperation, democratic values, good governance, and respect for human rights; Whereas, since its peaceful democratic revolution in 1989, through a series of initiatives, Mongolia has charted a VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 36 ATS successful path to multiparty democracy and a free mar- ket economy; Whereas, in 1990, the Government of Mongolia declared an end to a one-party and authoritarian political system and adopted democratic and free market reforms; Whereas, in 1992, Mongolia adopted a constitution estab- lishing a democracy, becoming the first country in Asia to transition from communism to democracy; Whereas Mongolia has shown its commitment to a ‘‘third neighbor’’ relationship with the United States by sending troops to support United States operations in Iraq from 2003 through 2008 and Afghanistan since 2009, and in addition has a strong record of troop contributions to international peacekeeping missions; Whereas successive Mongolian governments have taken nota- ble steps to strengthen civil society, battle corruption, and spur economic development; Whereas the Parliament of Mongolia, the State Great Khural, has engaged with Congress, including through the House Democracy Partnership, thereby promoting re- sponsive and effective governance through peer-to-peer cooperation; Whereas Mongolia began as a partner to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2004, graduated to become a participating state in 2012, and participates actively in the OSCE’s work promoting sta- bility, peace, and democracy; Whereas Mongolia has regularly invited the OSCE and other organizations to send monitoring teams for its presi- dential and parliamentary elections; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 36 ATS Whereas Mongolia has also been an active member of the Community of Democracies (CoD), a global coalition of states that support adherence to common democratic val- ues and standards, and Mongolia has not only remained active since the founding of the CoD in 2000, but suc- cessfully chaired the CoD from 2011 through 2013; Whereas, in addition to supporting the OSCE and the CoD, Mongolia supports democratic initiatives while partici- pating in a wide range of other global institutions; Whereas, most recently, on June 24, 2020, Mongolia success- fully organized parliamentary elections, strengthening its commitment to democracy and the rule of law; Whereas the success of Mongolia as a democracy and its stra- tegic location, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and abil- ity to pursue an independent foreign policy are important to the national security of the United States; Whereas the United States has provided support to Mongolia through the Millennium Challenge Corporation via an ini- tial 2007 compact designed to increase economic growth and reduce poverty, as well as a second compact signed in 2018 involving investments in water infrastructure, in- cluding supply and wastewater recycling, as well as water sector sustainability; Whereas, on September 20, 2018, the United States and Mongolia released a joint statement and the ‘‘Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership between the United States and Mongolia,’’ outlining the intent to deepen the bilateral commercial relationship, including through full implementation of the obligations under the Agreement on Transparency in Matters Related to International Trade and Investment between the United States of VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 36 ATS America and Mongolia, signed at New York September 24, 2013 (in this preamble referred to as the ‘‘United States-Mongolia Transparency Agreement’’), and collabo- ration in supporting Mongolian small- and medium-sized enterprises through various programs and projects; Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, trade be- tween the United States and Mongolia is modest but growing, with total trade in 2019 between the two coun- tries of approximately $217,400,000 in goods, including $192,800,000 in United States exports to Mongolia and $24,600,000 in United States imports from Mongolia; Whereas Mongolia is a beneficiary country under the Gener- alized System of Preferences program, but its use of the program remains low, as, in 2018, only $3,200,000 of ex- ports from Mongolia to the United States were under the program; and Whereas, on July 31, 2019, the United States and Mongolia declared the bilateral relationship a Strategic Partnership and noted the shared desire— (1) to intensify cooperation as strong democracies based on the rule of law through safeguarding and pro- moting democratic values and human rights, including the freedoms of religion or belief, expression, including internet and media freedom, assembly, and association, as well as anticorruption and fiscal transparency, and youth and emerging leader development; (2) to cooperate in promoting national security and stability across the Indo-Pacific region so that all coun- tries, secure in their sovereignty, are able to pursue eco- nomic growth consistent with international law and prin- ciples of fair competition; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 SRES 36 ATS (3) to deepen national security and law-enforcement ties through collaboration on bilateral and multilateral se- curity, judicial, and law-enforcement efforts in the region; (4) to strengthen cooperation in multilateral engage- ments such as peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster preparedness and relief operations; (5) to expand trade and investment relations on a fair and reciprocal basis, support private sector-led growth, fully implement the United States-Mongolia Transparency Agreement, promote women’s entrepre- neurship, and continue to explore support for infrastruc- ture under the new United States International Develop- ment Finance Corporation with the new tools provided under the BUILD Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); (6) to strengthen border security, prevent illegal transshipment and trafficking, expand cooperation on civil aviation safety and oversight, and efficiently facili- tate legitimate travel between Mongolia and the United States; (7) to increase cooperation in addressing transnational threats such as terrorism, human traf- ficking, drug trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyberattacks, transnational organized crime, pandemics, and other emerging nontraditional se- curity threats; (8) to continue to develop an environment in which civil society, social media, and a free and independent media can flourish; and (9) to maintain high-level official dialogues, encour- age bilateral exchanges at all levels of government, and further develop people-to-people exchanges to deepen en- gagement on issues of mutual interest and concern: Now, therefore, be it VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 SRES 36 ATS Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the importance of the relation- 2 ship between the United States and Mongolia and 3 remains committed to advancing this Strategic Part- 4 nership in the future; 5 (2) emphasizes the importance of free and fair 6 elections in Mongolia; 7 (3) applauds the continued engagement of Mon- 8 golia in the Organization for Security and Co-oper- 9 ation in Europe, the Community of Democracies, 10 congressional-parliamentary partnerships, including 11 continued high-level parliamentary exchange, and 12 other institutions that promote democratic values, 13 which reinforces the commitment of the people and 14 the Government of Mongolia to those values and 15 standards; 16 (4) encourages the United States Government 17 to help Mongolia use its benefits under the General- 18 ized System of Preferences program and other rel- 19 evant programs to increase trade between the United 20 States and Mongolia; 21 (5) urges the United States International De- 22 velopment Finance Corporation to expand activities 23 in Mongolia to support economic development, diver- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 SRES 36 ATS sification of the economy, and women-owned small- 1 and medium-sized enterprises; 2 (6) urges private and public support to help di- 3 versify the economy of Mongolia through increased 4 cooperation and investments, as well as infrastruc- 5 ture and other vital projects; 6 (7) urges the Department of State, the United 7 States Agency for International Development, and 8 other relevant agencies to continue to support Mon- 9 golia’s democratic and economic development and ef- 10 forts on anticorruption; 11 (8) reaffirms the importance of civil society to 12 the continued democratic development of Mongolia; 13 (9) encourages the Government of Mongolia to 14 build a regulatory system that supports and encour- 15 ages the growth and operation of independent non- 16 governmental organizations and continues to pursue 17 policies of transparency that uphold democratic val- 18 ues; and 19 (10) encourages the Government of Mongolia to 20 continue legal reform, institutional capacity building, 21 and to improve the independence of other democratic 22 institutions. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR36.ATS SR36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS