This article covers India's development partnership with Mongolia and cooperation in defence, border protection, disaster management and health. It describes the lines of credit and grant projects, training under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme and humanitarian assistance, as set out in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief of April 2026.

Oil Refinery Project

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, the Oil Refinery Project (ORP) is India's single largest project of developmental assistance. During the Prime Minister's visit in 2015, a line of credit of US$ 1 Billion was approved for the development of infrastructure, and the Government of Mongolia decided to use it to build its first ever oil refinery, in Dornogobi Province, with a capacity of 1.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA). The brief states that this capacity is equivalent to approximately 60%-70% of Mongolian energy consumption.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held in June 2018 by the then Mongolian Prime Minister U Khurelsukh, the current President, together with Minister of Home Affairs Shri Rajnath Singh. The refinery is being built under 4 contracts, EPC 1 to 4, with Engineers India Ltd (EIL) as Project Management Consultant.

  • In 2018, during the visit of the then Minister of Petroleum, Shri D Pradhan, India approved an additional USD 236 million for the project.
  • EPC 1, built by JMC India (now KPIL) from January 2021, is complete and its units have been taken over by Mongol Refinery.
  • EPC-II, III and IV were awarded to Megha Engineering (MEIL), which started work in April 2023.
  • As the estimated construction cost was exceeded, India approved additional financing for EPC-IV in November 2024. The total cost now stands at US$1.7 billion under a Line of Credit from EXIM Bank.

The Government of Mongolia has declared the ORP a 'Strategic Project', and the brief says it has support across party lines. A composite delegation led by SS & FA, MEA visited Mongolia from 11 to 16 May 2025 to review progress. The tender date of completion is February 2028.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre of Excellence in IT

An agreement was signed in September 2001, during the visit of the Minister for IT, Pramod Mahajan, for a Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology and 5 Community Information Centres in 5 provinces: Khovsgol, Bulgan, Kharkhorin, Darkhan-Uul and Sukhbaatar. The Mongolian Ministry of Education later agreed to establish a full-fledged Centre of Excellence in IT in Ulaanbaatar using a Line of Credit of US$20 million, announced during the State visit of President Smt Pratibha Devi Singh Patil in July 2011. The Centre was renamed after former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 2015.

Lovely Professional University (LPU) is responsible for curriculum, software, training and equipment under Package-II, signed in August 2019, and PK Saxena Contractor for construction under Package-I, signed on 16 March 2020. After delays caused by the Covid pandemic, the ground-breaking ceremony was held on 12 August 2021.

On completion, the brief says, the Centre will train over 1000 IT professionals in 16 specialised courses and generate about 850+ outsourcing jobs. The brief gives the expected completion as mid-2026 in one passage and as the end of 2026 in another.

India-Mongolia Friendship School

Following an MoU signed during the Prime Minister's visit in May 2015, the Government of Mongolia allotted a 2.9 hectare plot on Zaisan Hill in Ulaanbaatar in November 2021 for an 'India-Mongolia Friendship Secondary School'. It is funded under a USD 5.277 million Grant-in-Aid project from the Government of India. WAPCOS India was contracted as Project Management Consultant in July 2022, a tender was floated in February 2023, and P K Saxena was awarded the construction contract in September 2023. Work began on 9 October 2024, and the project is expected to be handed over by August-September 2026.

Rajiv Gandhi Polytechnic College for Production & Art

During the visit of Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1992, it was decided to set up a Vocational Training Centre in Mongolia with training facilities in 8 fields. After the Prime Minister's 2015 visit, six faculties of the Rajiv Gandhi Polytechnic College for Production & Art (RGPCPA) were upgraded during 2015-16 in 2 phases, at a total grant of about US$ 2.84 million. The brief describes the college as a centre of repute in Mongolia.

Solar energy

The first solar electrification project from India was executed by Central Electronics Ltd. and inaugurated in April 2006 in Dadal Soum, at a cost of approximately US$ 100,000. In 2018 a solarification project for the Mongolian Foreign Office, costing about USD 500,000, was approved at the request of the Mongolian Foreign Minister. An MoU was signed with the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in May 2024 for floating a tender; the tender has been awarded and the work is likely to be completed in 2026. Under ITEC, 30 Mongolian rural women attended a special 3-month solar training course at NISE from November 2022 to February 2023.

Training under ITEC

ITEC slots for civilian training were raised to 150 a year from 2011-12, and to 200 during the Prime Minister's visit in May 2015. After a reduction of 50 slots in 2017, 200 slots were approved with effect from FY 2019-20, including 40 for group training for the Mongol Refinery. After physical courses resumed in July 2022, 149 slots were used in 2022-2023 and 85 in FY 2023-24. The brief records 192 slots used in 2024-25 and 274 in FY 2025-26, which it describes as the highest utilisation so far, with 100% utilisation.

Special programmes listed in the brief include a course for 13 State Secretaries at IIPA, New Delhi, in March 2018; a Public Governance course at IIM, Indore, in January 2020 for 18 Provincial Governors and 7 senior officials led by the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr Oyun Erdene; and courses in 2026 for 15 officials of the Ministry of Digital Development and 31 officials of the Mongolian Refinery.

Defence cooperation

The brief states that defence cooperation received a "massive boost" during the visit of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh to Mongolia on 5-7 September 2022. He announced the "gifting of 2 ALS Indian made Ambulances and 200 special winter clothing", delivered to the Mongolian Armed Forces in July 2023. He also inaugurated the Cyber Security Training Centre (CSTC), funded by the Government of India, at the National Defence University of Mongolia's Ministry of Defence. Since then, 2 Indian Army officers have been deployed regularly for English language and cyber security training.

Mongolia's Defence Minister Gen. Saikhanbayar visited India in October 2022 with a 3-member delegation for DefExpo-2022 in Gandhinagar and held a bilateral meeting with the Raksha Mantri. The brief records his interest in establishing a Small Arms Ammunition factory in Mongolia, procuring light armoured vehicles and sourcing material for uniforms. A 6-member delegation from Mongolia's Ministry of Defence visited India in September 2023 to discuss the procurement of arms.

The two sides hold an annual Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation. The 10th JWG was held virtually on 16 April 2021 and the 11th in New Delhi on 10-11 February 2023, after which the Mongolian delegation attended Aero India 2023 and visited Indian defence manufacturers. The 12th was held in Ulaanbaatar on 16-17 May 2024 and the 13th in New Delhi on 7 February 2025. Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh led a delegation to Mongolia from 13 to 15 June 2025.

Exercises

The joint exercise 'Nomadic Elephant' is held annually. Since 2003, Indian observers have taken part in the annual multilateral peacekeeping exercise 'Khan Quest' in Mongolia, and participation was upgraded to contingent level in June 2022 with a 40-member platoon from the Ladakh Scouts. In 2023, a 40-member Garhwal Regiment contingent took part in Khan Quest and a 45-member J&K Light Infantry team in Nomadic Elephant. In 2024, a Mongolian contingent took part in Nomadic Elephant in Meghalaya (03-16 July), and a 40-member Madras Regiment team in Khaan Quest. In 2025, Ladakh Scouts took part in Nomadic Elephant in Mongolia, and an Indian Army contingent in Khaan Quest 2025.

Border protection

India's BSF (MHA) and Mongolia's General Authority for Border Protection (GABP) cooperate on border patrolling, formalised in an MoU in May 2015. A Joint Steering Committee first met in Ulaanbaatar on 21-23 December 2016. In September 2021, GABP's renovated Control and Command Centre, including USD 1.2 million of servers and systems supplied under a grant from India's Ministry of Home Affairs, was inaugurated. A second phase of upgrading was inspected by a BSF team on 13 June 2024 and handed over. In January and February 2024, 26 GABP officials were trained at NSG, Manesar under ITEC, and the 10th DG Level Border Coordination Conference was held in New Delhi from 6 to 11 February 2025.

Disaster management

Cooperation between Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and India's National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has, the brief says, picked up pace. In 2018, 25 NEMA officers were trained in India under ITEC. An MoU on Disaster Management and Disaster Risk Reduction was signed during the Mongolian President's visit in September 2019, and NEMA forwarded an Action Plan to NDMA in March 2021.

Humanitarian assistance

  • 2017: assistance worth US$ 20,000, in the form of beds, bedrolls and toys, for children of herders in Sukhbaatar Aimag affected by a harsh winter
  • August 2018: US$50,000 for the flood-affected provinces of Bayan Ulgii, Arhangai and Huvsgul
  • 19 March 2024: US$20,000 to NEMA for relief after the Dzud (winter storms) of November 2023 to March 2024

Health

According to the brief, India became the first country to gift Covid vaccines to Mongolia, with 150,000 doses of 'Made in India' Covishield in February 2021. During the second wave in India, the Government of Mongolia donated USD 1 million to the Indian Red Cross Society, Dornogobi Province donated MNT 178.5 million (USD 65,000), and a parliamentary campaign collected about MNT 155.5 million for the PM Cares Fund.

Indian Rotarian doctors led by Mr. R.K. Saboo undertook medical missions in August 2017 and May 2019; the second, by 17 doctors, conducted about 300 surgeries. Under 'Aid-to-Mongolia', MEA sanctioned a prosthetic limb camp through Shri Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), Jaipur. Held in Ulaanbaatar from September to November 2024, it fitted more than 650 people with prosthetic limbs free of cost.

In July 2022 the Indian Embassy made a formal offer on behalf of CSIR to Mongolia's Ministry of Health covering technology transfer, a Covid management protocol, immunity booster medicines and a digital management platform. The Embassy is also pursuing an MoU with the Ministry of Health on the recognition of Indian Pharmacopoeia Standards.