French President Emmanuel Macron visited Kazakhstan on November 1 to increase France’s influence in a region dominated by Russia and China. The area also attracts the interest of Turkey and the EU.
Central Asia has been under Russian influence for a long time and was part of the Soviet Union. However, other powers are now showing interest in the region as Moscow loses influence due to its invasion of Ukraine. China is particularly active with its “New Silk Road” project, while Europe and Turkey have also demonstrated a growing interest. Macron’s trip to Central Asia began on Nov. 1 in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The French President met with his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and participated in the France-Kazakhstan business forum.
France is a significant economic partner of Kazakhstan.
France has recently been engaging in more business deals with Kazakhstan. It has become the country’s fifth largest foreign investor, surpassing China, mainly due to the participation of energy giant TotalEnergies in the massive Kashagan offshore oil field project. The trade turnover between France and Kazakhstan amounted to €5.3 billion in 2022. Furthermore, Kazakhstan supplies approximately 40% of France’s uranium requirements. Following the full-scale invasion, Kazakhstan has also increased its oil exports to Europe.
During his visit, Macron presented a “shopping list” to Kazakhstan, which included pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and critical minerals. The region has abundant resources of critical minerals vital for clean energy technologies.
Macron also intends to increase France’s political and economic influence in the energy-rich region. French energy giant EDF is vying for the opportunity to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power station, a decision that will be made by a referendum later this year. The head of French uranium company Orano, which already has a mine in Kazakhstan, participates in Macron’s delegation.
The two sides signed several agreements.
In a joint statement to the media, President Tokayev and Macron stated that their discussions focused on expanding collaboration in trade, economy, and investment. They highlighted the importance of implementing new projects in the raw materials, agricultural, transport, logistics, light manufacturing, healthcare, innovation, and finance sectors.
“This is especially relevant in today’s difficult geopolitical and geo-economic situation. Today, we`ve signed a Joint Declaration between Kazakhstan and France on the intention to cooperate in strategic materials. As you have seen, we have also reached arrangements with Boehringer Ingelheim, Total Energies, and Alstom. These deals will be beneficial for both economies. In order to effectively implement the envisaged actions, it is necessary to promote investment projects at the ministerial level. To this end, I suggested establishing a special work group,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
The two Presidents also discussed several important topics, such as the transition to a green economy and climate change. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed ideas that benefit both countries and expressed Kazakhstan’s willingness to cooperate with France’s One Planet Summit initiative.
In addition, they also talked about the significance of cultural and humanitarian relations and agreed to collaborate on various projects in education and science. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev mentioned that they have signed agreements to open French schools, promote the French language, and enhance academic interaction.
Emmanuel Macron highlighted the importance of further cooperation between the two nations, and emphasised that Kazakhstan’s and France’s positions on many issues are similar.
“Kazakhstan’s geographical location and role are significant for us, so we thoroughly discussed the prospects of our economic cooperation. It was confirmed by the agreements signed this morning. You, Mr President, reminded us of the importance of French enterprises already in Kazakhstan. They are long standing partnerships in the areas of trade and energy. Several French companies have been operating here for a very long time. We would like to bolster the involvement of our companies in many other fields. We have fundamental areas for partnership. As I mentioned, these are the energy sector and aerospace industry,” Emmanuel Macron said.
The President of France also emphasised that Kazakhstan plays an important role in global food security.
“I am convinced that our companies can also contribute to enhancing the markets. To this, we signed an important agreement on the local production of FMD vaccines in Kazakhstan. Another promising area for partnership is healthcare. Mr President, you also have mentioned the importance of people-to-people links. Today we have signed a number of agreements on education field,” the French leader underlined.
“In a world where the great powers would like to become hegemonic again, where others are becoming unpredictable, it is good to know how to count on partners and friends with whom to share and build new perspectives. Kazakhstan and France are among them,” the French President posted on Twitter at the end of the visit to Kazakhstan.
