Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a permanent treaty on friendship and extensive strategic partnership with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga on September 3 during a two-day visit to the East Asian country, according to an interview published on the Kremlin's website.
The document builds on the existing 1993 Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation and will have no expiration date.
It will "take our bilateral ties to a fundamentally new level," Putin told Mongolian newspaper Odriyn Sonin in an interview that was translated into Russian.
Putin late on September 2 arrived in Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, where he will also take part in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the two countries' combined victory over Japanese forces on August 20-September 16, 1939, along the Khalkhin Gol River.
That victory "was one of the reasons why Japan didn't attack the Soviet Union in 1941 and it delayed its entry into World War II," Putin said.
Infrastructure projects will be high on the agenda, including for the state-run Russian Railways company to upgrade the Ulan Bator Railway.
"This is an important transportation artery for Mongolia," Putin said.
"Today, Russian-Mongolian cooperation is comprehensive and multilateral, and covers the political, trade, economic, investment, financial, agricultural, scientific, educational, cultural, and sports areas," the Russian president said.
According to the Kremlin, bilateral trade between Russian and Mongolia last year increased by 21 percent over the previous year to reach $1.65 billion. In the first six months of this year, trade jumped by 11 percent, to $800 million.
In education, Putin noted that the Russian state gives full scholarships to 500 students to attend Russian universities each year.
Putin previously visited Mongolia in November 2000 and September 2014.
