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

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 665 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 JULY 30, 2020 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 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 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, authoritarian, political system and adopted democratic and free market reforms; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 665 IS Whereas, in 1992, Mongolia adopted a constitution estab- lishing a parliamentary democracy, becoming the first country in Asia to transition from communism to democ- racy; 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 Mongolia 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 work of the OSCE for 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; 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 665 IS 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 CoD, Mon- golia supports democratic initiatives while participating 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 highly rel- evant to the national security of the United States; Whereas the United States has provided support to Mongolia through the Millennium Challenge Corporation through an initial compact signed in 2007 designed to increase economic growth and reduce poverty and a second com- pact signed in 2018 involving investments in water infra- structure, including supply and wastewater recycling, as well as water sector sustainability; Whereas, on September 20, 2018, the United States and Mongolia signed a joint statement and the Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership, outlining the intent to deepen the bilateral commercial relationship through full implementation of the obligations under the Agreement on Transparency in Matters Related to International Trade and Investment between the United States of America and Mongolia, signed at New York September 24, 2013 (in this preamble referred to as the ‘‘United States-Mongolia Transparency Agreement’’), and to col- laborate in supporting Mongolian small- and medium- sized enterprises through various programs and projects; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 665 IS 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 $217,500,000, including $192,700,000 in United States exports to Mongolia and $24,800,000 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 $3,300,000 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, 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; (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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 665 IS (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 Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the importance of the relation- 2 ship between the United States and Mongolia and 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 665 IS remains committed to advancing this Strategic Part- 1 nership in the future; 2 (2) emphasizes the importance of free and fair 3 elections in Mongolia; 4 (3) applauds the continued engagement of Mon- 5 golia in the Organization for Security and Coopera- 6 tion in Europe, the Community of Democracies, con- 7 gressional-parliamentary partnerships, including con- 8 tinued high-level parliamentary exchange, and other 9 institutions that promote democratic values, which 10 reinforces the commitment of the people and the 11 Government of Mongolia to those values and stand- 12 ards; 13 (4) encourages the United States Government 14 to help Mongolia use its benefits under the General- 15 ized System of Preferences program and other rel- 16 evant programs to increase trade between the United 17 States and Mongolia; 18 (5) urges the United States International De- 19 velopment Finance Corporation to expand activities 20 in Mongolia to support economic development, diver- 21 sification of the economy of Mongolia, and women- 22 owned small- and medium-sized enterprises; 23 (6) urges private and public support to help di- 24 versify the economy of Mongolia through increased 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 665 IS cooperation and investments, as well as infrastruc- 1 ture and other vital projects; 2 (7) urges the Department of State, the United 3 States Agency for International Development, and 4 other relevant agencies to continue to support Mon- 5 golia’s democratic and economic development and ef- 6 forts on anticorruption; 7 (8) reaffirms the importance of civil society to 8 the continued democratic development of Mongolia; 9 (9) encourages the Government of Mongolia to 10 build a regulatory system that supports and encour- 11 ages the growth and operation of independent non- 12 governmental organizations and continues to pursue 13 policies of transparency that uphold democratic val- 14 ues; and 15 (10) encourages the Government of Mongolia to 16 continue legal reform, institutional capacity building, 17 and to improve the independence of other democratic 18 institutions. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR665.IS SR665 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS