Key Takeaways
- Macron’s trip marks the first French presidential visit to Kazakhstan in years.
- Discussions will prioritise energy and uranium trade between France and Kazakhstan.
- The visit comes as France seeks alternatives to Russian energy amid a global supply shift.
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday for the first leg of his two-day tour in Central Asia, which will also include Uzbekistan.
Macron is expected to meet with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to discuss bilateral, regional, and international affairs.
The discussion is expected to be dominated by trade and economic cooperation, especially energy, between France and the uranium-rich Central Asian country that is commonly viewed as a close ally of Russia.
Macron’s visit is taking place at a time when France is trying to juggle its vow to give up Russian energy imports with a dire need for uranium, which it used to import abundantly from Africa’s Sahel region before the recent military coups in its former colonies.
