Mongolia bears great geopolitical significance for the creation of a cooperation mechanism in the Northeast Asian region. With a view to stimulating trade and investment in the region centered on Mongolia, this project sought to foster human resources in the course of surveys and studies conducted in a joint international endeavor. Over the six years of the project, including the first phase, the Mongolian Development Research Center (MDRC) conducted six surveys abroad and held 12 international conferences. It published 19 volumes of reports and accumulated other noteworthy results, in the process gaining recognition, with its name being listed in the National Institute for Research Advancement's World Directory of Think Tanks.
The focus in the first year of Phase II was on free trade zones in Mongolia and the role of surrounding countries. Researchers went on a study tour to the Russian Far East and Northeast China, and a joint workshop was held, inviting researchers from China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. The second year highlighted ways to stimulate trade and investment, and a workshop with the theme "Fostering Entrepreneurs" was held. In addition, two members of the Mongolian parliament visited Malaysia and Singapore to study how entrepreneurs have been fostered in Southeast Asia, and a Japanese researcher specializing in Mongolia was dispatched to MDRC as an adjunct researcher to help strengthen research capacity.
This year, a policy recommendation report was drafted. In August 2005 specialists from China, Japan, South Korea, and elsewhere were invited to join their Mongolian
counterparts for an exchange of views at a seminar in Mongolia with 15 specialists in attendance, and in October a group of Mongolian experts went on a study tour to China (Beijing and Tianjin) and South Korea (Seoul), where they exchanged views with researchers at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Yonsei University. High-ranking officials of the Mongolian government were briefed on the policy recommendation report prior to the final international conference. The full text of the report also appeared in local newspapers both in Mongolian and in English. Most significantly, a copy of the report was handed directly to President Nambaryn Enkhbayar when he attended the project's February 2006 international conference.
The report sets out a series of recommendations on government affairs, security, the economy, and other affairs, and it advocates the inauguration of an "Ulaanbaatar Forum" to serve as a "wise men's group" for regional cooperation in Northeast Asia. Much can be expected of Mongolia's unique role in the years to come, since it can serve as a corridor between Northeast Asia and Central Asia. Mongolia can also contribute to the stability of the Northeast Asian region by utilizing its good relations with China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.