Mongolia to develop trade with EAEU through checkpoint on border with Buryatia

ULAANBAATAR. March 6 (Interfax) - Mongolia wants to make the route through the Altanbulag checkpoint on the border with Russia the main export and import artery for the implementation of its trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Mongolian parliament's website reported, citing Speaker Nyam-Osor Uchral.

The implementation of this agreement will directly affect the activities of the Altanbulag free economic zone, he said. The free zone, which covers 500 hectares in the Altanbulag district, needs to build a freight terminal, customs lab, internal roads and communications infrastructure, the press release said.

The economy of the Altanbulag district and the whole surrounding region is oriented toward exporting livestock products. The trade agreement with the EAEU will make it possible to diversify livestock farmers' incomes, boost prices for livestock products and diversify income from the country's agriculture sector as a whole, the speaker said.

The Altanbulag border crossing in Mongolia, which was built in 1933, is located on the Ulan-Ude - Ulaanbaatar highway near the Russian city of Kyakhta, 233 km from the capital of Buryatia. The territory of the border crossing has a free economic zone, the residents of which include companies from various Russian regions.

There are ten operating road and two railway crossings on the border between Mongolia and Russia, from the Altai Republic, Tuva, Buryatia and Transbaikal Territory, according to public sources. Russia is the only EAEU country with which Mongolia shares a border.

The EAEU and Mongolia signed a free trade agreement in Minsk in June 2025. The document opens up the opportunity for duty-free imports of 367 commodity subitems for each party on which customs duties will be eliminated or reduced when the agreement goes into effect. The tariff preferences will cover $2 billion worth, or more than 90% of EAEU exports to Mongolia, enabling EAEU companies to save up to $100 million annually. The agreement is expected to enable Mongolia to increase exports to the Eurasian market by almost a quarter.

The agreement has an initial duration of three years with an option for subsequent extension. It has already been ratified in Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan, and must still be ratified by the other EAEU countries. Russia hopes this process will be completed by mid-2026.