It is in a traditional yurt that Emmanuel Macron was received Sunday, May 21 for the first visit of a French president to Mongolia, where he promoted a partnership focused on energy with this country, landlocked between China and Russia, which arouses the interest of Westerners.

When he got off the plane in Ulaanbaatar in the late afternoon, greeted by a hedge of the Mongolian guard of honour in traditional blue, red and yellow dress, the French president tasted as is customary a dry cow's milk cheese offered to distinguished guests.

On Sukhbaatar Square, named after the hero of Mongolian independence, Emmanuel Macron then reviewed the troops with his counterpart Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.

The French head of state is stopping in Mongolia for a visit of a few hours after participating in the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima where Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky was the star guest. The latter had come to address the leaders of non-aligned countries such as Brazil or India, also invited to the G7.

" READ ALSO – Emmanuel Macron in Mongolia, a strategic visit to a country with coveted basements

'Determination to support an attacked state'

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the France has stepped up efforts to talk to countries that have not clearly condemned Moscow's war. The brief but symbolic State visit to Mongolia is part of this context.

With the Mongolian president, Emmanuel Macron said he had "shared" his "determination to support an attacked state" and his "objective of a return to peace on the European continent in compliance with international law".

He praised Ulaanbaatar's contribution "to the multilateral system on which international security is based", although Ukhnaa Khurelsukh confined himself in his statement to the press to a vague plea for "maintaining peace and security in the world".

Energy cooperation

The France also aims to strengthen bilateral energy ties.

President Macron notably defended the cause of the French nuclear group Orano, already present in the country and candidate for a large-scale uranium mining project that still needs the approval of the Mongolian government – potentially one of the largest mines in the world.

He assured that the project would respect the "best environmental and social standards", while the company is often criticized by local environmental movements. "The partnership with Orano is a structuring element", "it will therefore make it possible to extract extremely important critical metals", he added, referring to his quest for "energy sovereignty" for the France.

For its part, Paris is committed to facilitating the financing of Mongolia's ecological transition with cooperation on renewable energies and nuclear power.

A "historic first" with important "geostrategic" stakes

This semi-desert country, subject to extreme temperatures, is particularly vulnerable to climate change. What's more, it is explained on the French side, it is 90% dependent on coal for its electricity and therefore needs to decarbonize its economy.

Currently, 86% of Mongolia's total exports of all goods go to China. Half of these Chinese purchases are coal.

"The fact that Mongolia is on the way back (from Hiroshima, editor's note) allows us to make this historic first" with important stakes on the "geostrategic level", was explained in the entourage of the French president.

"Mongolia is a landlocked country between Russia and China, but also a country that has a model of government that is liberal, that holds elections, that has experienced alternations, and that also seeks to diversify its partnerships to be more robust and to be able to deal in better conditions with its large Russian and Chinese neighbors," It was pointed out.

In Ulaanbaatar, after his meeting with his counterpart under a yurt installed inside the presidential palace, Emmanuel Macron participated in a state dinner at the Genghis Khan Museum, named after the great Mongolian conqueror of the thirteenth century. The institution will lend part of its collection to the history museum of Nantes, in the west of the France, for an exhibition scheduled for October.

The French president, who is due to return to Paris in the late evening, invited Ukhnaa Khurelsukh for a state visit in October in France.

With AFP

The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app