Macron arrives for first visit to Mongolia
Emmanuel Macron arrived Sunday, May 21,
in Mongolia for a brief yet symbolic visit, the first by a French
president to the country nestled between China and Russia that is of
growing strategic interest in the West.
The
French head of state landed in the capital Ulaanbaatar after
participating at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky was the star guest at the G7, where he addressed key
Western allies but also leaders of non-aligned nations like Brazil and
India.
Since the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, France has stepped up its
efforts to speak with countries who have not explicitly condemned it –
of which Mongolia is one.
In Ulaanbaatar, where he will only spend an evening, Macron will dine
with President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, the Elysée said. He will also visit
the museum of Genghis Khan, named for the 13th-century Mongol
conqueror, which will lend part of its collection to the Nantes History
Museum in western France for an exhibition scheduled for October.
Macron will then depart for Paris at the end of the evening. "The fact
that Mongolia will be on the route back allows us to make this historic
first (visit) and gives it a special meaning," a source in the Elysée's
entourage said. "Mongolia is landlocked between Russia and China, but is
also a country which has a liberal model of government," they said,
adding it is trying to "diversify its partnerships in order to be more
robust and able to deal with its large Russian and Chinese neighbours."
The French presidency is seeking to "loosen the constraint exerted on
Russia's neighbors and open up to them the choice of their options,"
they added.
On the bilateral level, France has considered that there are "very
significant possibilities for cooperation" with Mongolia, particularly
in energy, with the country struggling to decarbonise its coal-dependent
economy
