Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok met with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj on Wednesday and discussed joint climate change responses as well as ways to enhance ties between the two nations, the mayor’s office said Thursday.

“As desertification in Mongolia and China is deepening due to global warming, the world should join hands to tackle the phenomenon and yellow sand that stems from it,” the South Korean mayor said during the meeting, which was held at the Mongolian presidential residence Ikh Tenger Complex in Ulaanbaatar.

Yoo is currently in the Asian country for a five-day visit on the invitation of President Elbegdorj. He is scheduled to return on Saturday.

Incheon, the nation’s second-largest port city west of Seoul, has been planting trees in Mongolia since 2008, as part of its “Incheon Forest of Hope” project. The mayor’s visit is to mark the 10th anniversary of the project.

“‘Incheon Forest of Hope’ is an international cooperation project that aims to address global climate change with sustainable development and to reduce damages from yellow sand storms in Incheon area,” Mayor Yoo explained to the president.

“I expect to strengthen the cooperation between Incheon and Mongolia in order to continue planting trees and manage the forests in the future,” he added. He also expressed hopes for better bilateral ties in fields of agriculture, industry and urban development.

In response, President Elbegdorj thanked the mayor for the 10-year-old project, saying it has been a great help in Mongolia’s effort to restore nature.

On Wednesday, Incheon City forged a sisterhood relationship with Ulaanbaatar and agreed to seek measures for mutual development and economic exchanges between the two cities.

On the tie-up, Yoo said the two cities will do their utmost to support each other, cooperate for the afforestation of Ulaanbaatar and concentrate on projects that would help Mongolia substantially in the future.

During his three-day stay in the country so far, the mayor met with D. Oyunkhorol, the minister of environment and tourism to discuss environmental cooperation and signed a memorandum of understanding with D. Zagdsuren, the chairman of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee with regard to Incheon’s invitation for the Mongolian national wrestling team to hold a training session in Incheon.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com) and Lee Hong-seok (gilbert@heraldcorp.com)