Dharamshala: A two-day international symposium on "1913 Treaty between Mongolia and Tibet" was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongol, from 13 - 14 October. The event was organised by the editorial board of the journal "The Independence" of the National Intelligence Academy of Mongolia.

Twenty-seven experts from Mongolia, India, America, Korea, Russia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Holland and Germany attended the symposium. Recitation of essay and fierce debates took place among the experts.

The purpose of the symposium was to present the results of the research of Mongolian and foreign scholars and to share common ideas on the reasoning of signing the 1913 Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between Mongolia and Tibet and all the related political and security issues of that time and the attitude of foreign countries.

Professor A. Tuvshintugs, editor in chief of "The Independence" and Mr Kalsang Gyaltsen, member of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile on behalf of the foreign delegates delivered their remarks on the opening ceremony on 13 October.

The highlight of the six sessions held during the symposium include Professor Sergius L Kuzmin's talk on “The treaty of 1913 between Mongolia and Tibet as Valid International Document” which was chaired by Mr Tashi Tsering, a Tibetan historian and scholar; Dr Michael van Walt van Praag on “Reflections on the nature of the Mongolia-Tibet Treaty of 1913 under international law” and “Sovereignty of State and the Mongolia-Tibetan Treaty (1913)” by Professor Udo Barmann. Mr Chung Tsering, a delegate from the Central Tibetan Administration in India, spoke on “The background and significance of the 1913 treaty between Tibet and Mongolia”.

Following the closing session on 14 October, Ambassador Ravdan Bold organised a special dinner reception and culture performance at Marshall Palace in honour of the participants.

On the basis of profound research done in Tibetan, Mongolian, Russian, English and Chinese, the members have concluded the debate; unanimously agreeing that 99 per cent of "1913 Treaty between Mongolia and Tibet" is factual and official.

The Government of Mongolia said it is not involved in any way in the symposium, nor it takes any position on this issue.

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