United Nations peacekeeping missions in 2009. Elbegdorj visited South Sudan to encourage Mongolian soldiers on 15 February 2013. "Elbegdorj's visit was the first to South Sudan by a head of state from outside Africa. His visit is also the first from a country contributing troops to the UN mission," Hiruy Amanuel, chief political affairs representative at UNMISS said. As an officer in the Mongolian Armed Forces, Elbegdorj's son Erdene Elbegdorj participated in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan from March to November 2013. In addition, as an active member of the UN peacekeeping missions, "Mongolia stands committed to enhancing its contribution, including through hosting training for civil police and medical personnel at its training center," Elbegdorj stated at the General Debate of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 28 September 2009. Analysing the role of peacekeeping in Mongolia's military strategy, Christopher Pultz mentions in his article the related "third neighbours" policy of the President: "Mongolia is developing a unique military strategy that attempts to balance conventional and peacekeeping capabilities. Having moved away from its previous security arrangements with Russia, Mongolia now pursues a foreign policy that will facilitate global engagement while allowing the country to maintain its sovereignty, national identity, and diplomatic freedom of maneuver through a "third neighbor" policy." In an interview film with the President (titled "Mongolia – Democratic Anchor of the East"), Elbegdorj explains the same policy in details. Nuclear-free status Elbegdorj has committed Mongolia to be nuclear-free and a nuclear free world as a principal component of his foreign policy agenda. The United Nations Security Council recognized Mongolia's nuclear-weapon-free status on 17 September 2012 despite the fact that it cannot join one of the World's Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones, in part, because of the country's close proximity to nuclear-armed states Russia and China. Mongolia renounced nuclear materials and became a member of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2013 and UN General Assembly's President Vuk Jeremic congratulated Elbegdorj for these. Elbegdorj made international headlines in 2012 after being the first world leader invited to visit the Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz. After his visit, he stressed "the program has to be transparent to the world; in particular, the program must be under permanent supervision of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran's nuclear program must not endanger or cause threat to the interests and security of regional peace