The French president paid a visit to Kazakhstan the other day. After that, he met with Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It should be mentioned here that Macron became the first French president to visit Uzbekistan since 1994. But let's not go too far from our topic, let's look at the main goals of the meetings.

France gets 80 percent of its electricity needs from Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). For the operation of nuclear power plants, uranium is always needed. France obtained uranium from African countries, mainly from Niger. However, the forces that came to power after the coup in Niger refused to sell uranium to France. When this incident took place in the summer, many experts had already noted that France's need for uranium would increase and it would look for new "uranium friends". In particular, it is appropriate to mention not only France, but also other nuclear users in Europe.

However, as we know, France has recently been the most active Western actor in Central Asia and the South Caucasus region. His current trip is the final goal to fulfill his desired plans. Kazakhstan also has sufficient uranium resources. 40 percent of the world's uranium reserves are in Kazakhstan. Astana's willingness to sell uranium to France is only half of the story. The main point is that uranium is not transported by air due to safety reasons, it is preferred to use land and sea routes.

This shows the importance of Azerbaijan here. This is because there are two routes for transporting Kazakhstan's uranium to France by land - Russia and Azerbaijan. The relations between France and Russia are tense due to the war in Ukraine. For this reason, delivery of Kazakh uranium to France via Russia is problematic. Emmanuel Macron has been pursuing anti-Azerbaijan policy since coming to power. For France, the dilemma of Azerbaijan and Russia has left it in a bad situation. In fact, Macron, in particular, aimed to make Armenia a strong force in the region and ensure the import of uranium through it. But the problem does not end there.

The beginning of the International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) begins in China. Kazakhstan's uranium is also bought by China. China also has many nuclear power plants and they also need large amounts of uranium. China has invested heavily in Kazakhstan's uranium production facilities. China in particular will keep Astana under pressure, and after that, more difficult days await France.

Akbar Novruz