India to train border security force of Mongolia: PM Modi

India will start a new programme to help in capacity building for the border security force of Mongolia, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (October 14, 2025). Welcoming visiting Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhna, Mr. Modi highlighted common Buddhist bonds between Mongolia and India and announced that holy relics of two of Lord Buddha’s leading disciples would travel to Mongolia next year. He also announced that India would start issuing free e-visas for Mongolian citizens.

“Our defence and security cooperation is also steadily strengthening. We have launched several new initiatives, from training programmes to the appointment of a Defense Attaché at the Embassy. India will also launch a new capacity-building programme for Mongolia’s border security forces,” said Mr. Modi. Explaining the announcement by Mr. Modi, senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs said India and Mongolia already had joint defence exercises, saying, “They are interested and they see a lot of benefits of training with us.”

Mr. Modi highlighted common Buddhist links between India and Mongolia and said, “Today, we made several important decisions to further strengthen this tradition and our historic ties. I am happy to announce that next year, the holy relics of two great disciples of Lord Buddha — Sariputra and Maudgalyayana — will be sent from India to Mongolia.”

The two sides signed 10 MoUs covering areas such as immigration, cooperation, humanitarian aid, geology and mineral resources, and yoga. One MoU was signed to enhance ties between Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and Arkhangai province of Mongolia that has a significant Buddhist population and heritage. President Khurelsukh Ukhna arrived here on Monday and started his official engagements with the call on by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. During official exchanges at the Hyderabad House, the two leaders jointly released a commemorative postal stamps marking the 70^th anniversary of India-Mongolia diplomatic relations. P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) of the MEA, said the two sides agreed on the appointment of a resident defence attaché in Ulaanbaatar. Mr. Kumaran also said there was interest on the Mongolian side about starting direct flights between India and Mongolia but viability of such flights continued to be an issue.

India’s largest development assistance project, an oil refinery in Mongolia also came up for discussion during the talks and the Indian side expressed satisfaction about the work currently underway in the construction site in Mongolia. The refinery being built with $1.7 billion Line of Credit from India is expected to be operational by 2028, said Mr. Kumaran.