The two foreign ministers exchanged visits in 1997, as did the leaders of the two countries' parliaments. President Jiang Zemin visited Mongolia in July 1999. Mongolia is expanding relations with Japan and South Korea. Its Prime Minister visited Japan in March 1990 and Prime Minister Obuchi reciprocated with a visit to Mongolia in July 1999. Diplomatic relations were established with South Korea in 1991, and during the Mongolian President's visit, seven agreements and treaties were signed, providing the legal basis for further expanding bilateral relations.
Japan is Mongolia's largest bilateral aid donor.
After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia developed relations with the new independent states. Links with Russia and other republics were essential to contribute to stabilization of the Mongolian economy. The primary difficulties in developing fruitful coordination occurred because the NIS were experiencing the same political and economic restructuring as Mongolia. Despite these difficulties, Mongolia and Russia successfully negotiated both a 1991 Joint Declaration of Cooperation and a bilateral trade agreement. This was followed by a 1993 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation establishing a new basis of equality in the relationship.