The earliest modern contact between Mongolia and the Republic of Singapore (, , ) started in 1950, and both countries established diplomatic relations in 1970.
History
There is a reference to "the craftsmen of the Lion City" ("Арслан хотын урчуудаараа хийлгэсэн юмаа хө""Arslan hotyn urchuudaaraa hiilgesen yumaa hu") in Aduuchin (Адуучин "Horseman"), a Mongolian folk song (origin unknown),, but it is unclear if this refers to present-day Singapore or to Cangzhou, which has a 5.4-meter high cast iron lion made in A.D. 953. The first dated interaction was in 1320, when envoys of the Yuan Dynasty (part of the Mongol Empire) were sent to obtain elephants from Long Ya Men (龍牙門, Dragon's Teeth Gate, the entrance to present-day Keppel Harbour in Singapore); the people of Long Ya Men subsequently visited the court of Yesün Temür in 1325 with a tribute and trade mission.
The earliest documented contact between modern Singapore and Mongolia started in 1950, when nine Mongolian pilgrims arrived at Singapore in a ship called the Automedon from Jeddah. In 1960s, the trade between Singapore and Mongolia was restricted due to the anti-communist policies of Singapore.
Singapore and Mongolia established diplomatic relations on June 11, 1970. Tsevengombyn Demiddagva, the Ambassador of Mongolia to India, was appointed as the first non-resident Ambassador of Mongolia to Singapore two years later. In 1990, B. Sharavsambuu, the Vice Chairman of the Councils of Minister of Mongolia, visited Singapore, marking the first official contact between the two countries. In 1992, Mongolia set up a trade representative office in Singapore; a consul, Haidav Gungaajav, was resident in Singapore at 100 St Patrick Rd during the mid- and late-1990s. A consulate-general was set up in Singapore ten years later, under Resolution No.92 of the Parliament of Mongolia in 2001, whereby the Trade Representative Office of Mongolia was reorganized as a Consulate General. In 2008, the consulate-general became an embassy and Gansukh Purevjav became the first resident ambassador of Mongolia to Singapore, Delgermaa Banzragch in 2012, and in 2015 T.Lkhagvadorj (who also served as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in 2020). The current Ambassador of Mongolia to Singapore is S.Enkhbayar (since December 2021).
In 1995, Puntsagiin Jasrai, the Prime Minister of Mongolia, visited Singapore, the first Prime Minister of Mongolia to do so. Further Prime Ministerial visits were by Nambaryn Enkhbayar in October 2002, then-Prime Minister Ts.Elbegdorj in 2005, S.Batbold in 2011 and Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai in July 2022. In 2001, Natsagiin Bagabandi was the first President of Mongolia to visit Singapore. The President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, made a state visit to Singapore in November 2013.
Other high-level visits to Singapore took place in 2019 and 2020, by the Mongolian Minister for Foreign Affairs D. Tsogtbaatar (5-8 June 2019), and the Speaker of the Parliament of Mongolia, G. Zandanshatar, in January 2020.
In December 1994, the Government of the Republic of Singapore accredited its Ambassador to the Republic of Korea as a non-Resident Ambassador to Mongolia. The Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore, Pang Eng Fong, presented his letter of credence to the Mongolian President in May 1995. BG Michael Teo Eng Cheng was appointed the non-resident Ambassador of Singapore to Mongolia from 1997 until 2001, followed by Calvin Eu Mun Hoo in July 2002, Chua Thai Keong from 2006 to 2010, Peter Tan Hai Chuan in June 2011 and Yip Wei Kiat on 7 July 2015. The current non-resident Ambassador of Singapore to Mongolia is Eric Teo Boon Hee (from November 2019).
In 2016, Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore visited Mongolia, the first Prime Minister of Singapore to do so. When he was welcomed by his Mongolian counterpart Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat, PM Lee stated that he would open new areas of cooperation between the two countries and enhance bilateral cooperation. Both leaders of the two countries agreed the visit "opened a new chapter" for bilateral relations between the two countries.
Trade relations
According to the data from The Observatory of Economic Complexity, the exported values from Singapore to Mongolia were between 10 and 20 million US dollars. The exported value started increasing in 2003, reaching a peak of 70 million US dollars in 2013, before falling between 2009 and 2012. Singapore's main export product to Mongolia was motors. The proportion of food in exported products from Singapore to Mongolia started increasing in 2002.