Emmanuel Macron will visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on November 1 and 2

After Mongolia in May, Emmanuel Macron returns to Central Asia. The French president will visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday November 1 and Thursday November 2, the Elysée and the Kazakh presidency announced on Thursday.“France is there to support these two countries in their reform and modernization efforts”underlined the French presidency.

“This rapprochement (..) is at work in the economic field, particularly in terms of energy, the supply of critical materials, transport infrastructure, health, agri-food sovereignty, and even defense”, she added. Discussions will also focus on the challenges of climate change that Central Asia faces (particularly regarding its water resources and food security), as well as the “multiplication of crises and the risk of fragmentation of the world”specified the Elysée.

Russia, monopolized by its invasion of Ukraine since February 2022, sees its influence contested by China, Turkey and the European Union in its traditional territory, from the Caucasus to Central Asia. Allied with Russia and moving closer to Beijing and Ankara, Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world, is trying to diversify its partnerships, taking advantage of its strategic position between Europe and Asia. Uzbekistan is also pursuing a policy of openness in order to attract foreign investment, breaking with a quarter of a century of isolation of the country under former President Islam Karimov.