U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper met senior Mongolian leaders on Thursday in a rare visit to the strategically important nation as the Pentagon seeks to implement its strategy of focusing on countering China and Russia.

On a map, Mongolia, locked between Russia and China, best represents the Pentagon’s priorities over the coming decades.

“It is my deep privilege to be here, to be with you and to have the opportunity to look at different ways we can further strengthen the ties between our two countries,” Esper said before the start of his meeting with his Mongolian counterpart.

The horse will stay behind to be cared for in Mongolia, though Esper was given a framed photo of the it. Esper, in return, gave the caretaker a blanket for the horse which is used by the U.S. Army Old Guard.Esper’s visit to Mongolia, on his first international trip since being confirmed as defense secretary, highlights the importance the country is seen as playing in the region.

This is the first visit to the country by a defense secretary since 2014, when Chuck Hagel spent about four hours there. Esper spent a night in Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia is eager for investment from the United States and other countries it considers “third neighbors” to help it reduce its economic dependence on China, through which most of its exports of cashmere and other goods move.

Esper was welcomed to the capital Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday according to custom, trying dried milk curd upon stepping off the plane at Chinggis Khaan International Airport, named after the country’s warrior-emperor.

The ceremonial highlight of the visit was when Esper was given a seven-year old caramel colored horse as a present. Esper named the horse Marshall after former U.S. Defense Secretary General George Marshall.

Battulga, a businessman often described as “Mongolia’s Trump”, was elected in 2017 on a populist and sometimes anti-Chinese platform, with the country increasingly wary of Beijing’s growing regional dominance.

“They have been a good ally that punches above its weight, and I think Secretary Esper wants to acknowledge (that) and see if there are ways to grow the partnership further,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.