NATION : Bush Meets Mongolia President
President Bush today welcomed the president of Mongolia to the White House for talks and to sign a new trade agreement. President Punsalmaagiyn Ochirbat is the first leader of Mongolia to visit the United States in the 70-year-history of that remote Asian country.
Bush refused to answer reporters’ questions today as he and Ochirbat sat down with their interpreters for talks in the Oval Office. A fire blazed in the fireplace at their backs on this chilly winter day.
U.S. trade with Mongolia totals only about $2 million a year, but the new agreement generally reduces tariffs on Mongolian products to the lowest possible levels, raising the possibility of a significant increase in two-way commerce.
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