(Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France and Uzbekistan would establish a strategic partnership, discussing collaboration in agriculture and uranium projects. Uzbekistan, along with its neighboring countries, has refused to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has pledged to adhere to Western sanctions while maintaining strong ties with Moscow.
“We have agreed with the President (Shavkar Mirziyoyev) … to build a strategic partnership,” Macron stated during the first visit by a French leader to Central Asia’s most populous nation since President Francois Mitterrand. Although Macron did not provide further details, the term “strategic” in Uzbekistan usually denotes a high-level partnership with another country.
Macron commended Mirziyoyev’s reforms and promised significant investments, a move that Russia, Tashkent’s former Soviet overlord, has characterized as an attempt by the West to court its traditional allies. “We support your policy and would like to help you implement it,” Macron told Mirziyoyev during their meeting in Samarkand.
Mirziyoyev’s office mentioned that the Uzbek leader, who has opened up his country to foreign trade and investment since 2017, engaged with several French executives who accompanied Macron. They discussed plans for dairy giant Lactalis to construct a plant in Namangan, a joint project with Boehringer Ingelheim, as well as a proposal by Semmaris to establish a network of agricultural logistics centers in Uzbekistan.
During a meeting with Orano chairman Claude Imauven, the two sides “supported initiatives to expand cooperation in the exploration and mining of uranium,” according to Mirziyoyev’s office. Uzbekistan currently stands as the world’s fifth-largest uranium producer.
Orano Chief Operating Officer Nicolas Maes also held meetings in Kazakhstan, the top uranium producer, a day prior to discussing the deepening of cooperation. Both countries could potentially assist France, which heavily relies on nuclear power, in diversifying its sources of uranium away from Russian supplies.
(Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alexander Smith)
