Mongolian President gifts horse to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
Ulaanbaatar, Sep 7: Rajnath Singh, the first Indian Defence Minister to visit Mongolia, was gifted a majestic horse by President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Wednesday, seven years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a similar gift from the leadership of this country.
"A special gift from our special friends in Mongolia. I have named this magnificent beauty, Tejas'. Thank you, President Khurelsukh. Thank you Mongolia," Singh tweeted on Wednesday along with pictures of the white horse.
In one of the pictures, Singh is seen admiring the seven-year-old horse of Mongol breed while in another he is holding a framed picture of the equine gift.
An official source in Delhi said that the horse will not be brought to India. "It's a symbolic gift. The horse will remain in Mongolia," the source told PTI.
On Tuesday, Singh called on President Khurelsukh and reviewed the strategic bilateral ties.
"Excellent meeting with the President of Mongolia, H.E. U. Khurelsukh in Ulaanbaatar. Recalled my last meeting with him in 2018, when he was the Prime Minister of the country. We are fully committed to further deepening our multifaceted Strategic Partnership with Mongolia," Singh said in a tweet.
The Mongolian President expressed satisfaction with the expansion of relations and cooperation with India, Mongolia's important third neighbour while pointing out that the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mongolia in 2015, and the ongoing visit of the Defence Minister Singh are the important impetus for further development.
Khurelsukh also said that there is a full possibility of elevating the strategic partnership between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Mongolia's Montsame national news agency reported.
In 2015, Prime Minister Modi received a special gift a brown racehorse from his then Mongolian counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg during his historic visit to this country.
The horse was named Kanthaka'.
Mongolia is known as the land of the horse, according to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
Mongolia is home to more than 3 million horses, making the horse population almost equal to the human population in the vast nation.
Even in the 21st century, Mongolia remains a horse-based culture and retains its pastoral traditions.
Meanwhile, Singh also visited the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia on Wednesday.
"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh visited the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia today and interacted with the highest Buddhist monk of the country," the Defence Minister of India tweeted.
Defence Minister Singh is on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan from Monday with an aim to expand India's strategic and defence ties with the two countries in the backdrop of evolving regional security matrix and geo-political turmoil.
Singh's visit to Mongolia from September 5 to 7 is the first-ever tour to the East Asian country by an Indian defence minister.
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Iran's sports minister says country can't take part in World Cup because of US attacks
Dubai (AP): Iran's sports and youth minister said it's “not possible” for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.
Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country's soccer team players are not safe in the US, according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.
“Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran — they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people — definitely it's not possible for us to take part in the World Cup,” he said.
Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The US is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
FIFA said Tuesday night that it anticipates Iran's national team will be allowed to come to the United States.
Last week, US President Donald Trump said “I really don't care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament and received assurances that Iran would be permitted to come to the US.
