The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) invited Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren, a member of the Parliament, a former Minister of Environment and Green Development, and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia to give a lecture on the theme of “Mongolia after 25 years since the democratic transition: Lessons learnt and the way forward”. SPF extends invitations to opinion leaders in Asian region, who play definitive roles in policymaking and forming public opinions, to further deepen mutual understanding and to contribute to strengthening collaborative relationships between Japan and its Asian neighbors. In particular, this lecture is organized under SPF project, “Promoting Japan-Asia Relations: An Opinion Leaders’ Exchange”.

During the transition towards democracy in Mongolia in 1990s, Mongolia has transformed itself from state-controlled economy and the single-party system to multi-party parliamentary democratic state. This fundamental change required various reforms in legislative, political, and economic arenas. The challenges and lessons drawn from the experience of Mongolia in the past 25 years present an interesting and positive case of a transition of a post-communist country after the end of the Cold War.

On the diplomatic front, the independence of Mongolia is geopolitically largely dependent on the power balance between two big neighboring countries, Russia and China. Mongolia also seeks to engage “third neighbors” in order to enhance its democracy and economic development. Japan is identified as one of the main strategic third partners.