Ex-President Moon to visit Mongolia next week for U.N. desertification conference

Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in Heads to Mongolia for U.N. Desertification Conference

Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in departed for Mongolia on Sunday to attend a United Nations conference on desertification and meet with the Mongolian president, Yonhap News Agency reported. He left through Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern port city of Busan and will travel via Incheon International Airport for a nine-day visit to Mongolia, the host of the 17th session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties.

Moon is scheduled to give a speech at the session's opening on Monday before attending a luncheon hosted by Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh. On Wednesday, he is due to deliver a keynote speech at a high-level roundtable for the Peace Forest Initiative, a platform for global cooperation launched in 2019 jointly by the South Korean government and the UNCCD, according to Yonhap.

This marks Moon's second official overseas trip since leaving office in 2022. The trip was arranged at the invitation of the UNCCD and the Mongolian president, his office said.

Indian Minister Arrives for COP17

Meanwhile, India's Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Sunday to participate in the same conference, according to Lokmat Times. He wrote on social media platform X that he would be "putting forth India’s position on achieving land degradation neutrality and the eco-restoration agenda and related issues on different forums and in bilateral meetings" during the event.

Indian Ambassador to Mongolia Atul Malhari Gotsurve and the Mongolian President's Foreign Policy Advisor E. Odbayar welcomed the minister at the airport. The Indian Embassy in Mongolia confirmed the welcome on X, noting that Yadav is leading the Indian delegation for UNCCD COP17.

The conference, formally known as the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UNCCD, is being hosted by Mongolia in its capital, Ulaanbaatar, from August 17 to 28 under the theme 'Restoring Land. Restoring Hope', Lokmat Times reported. According to the UNCCD, the event is expected to bring together delegates from its 197 parties, along with leaders from government, business, catapust, scientists, youth, indigenous peoples, pastoralists and smallholder farmers. They will convene to forge solutions to the interconnected challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought, recognizing that restoring land is also essential to reducing instability, preventing displacement and strengthening human and national security in vulnerable regions.

The conference coincides with the U.N. International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, which had been championed by Mongolia.