French President Emmanuel Macron promised Thursday to support his Uzbek counterpart Chavkat Mirzioyev in his country’s opening policy, calling for the strengthening of partnership and economic exchanges with this former Soviet republic of Central Asia. “Uzbekistan is transforming. We must be there. We will be there!”, he assured at the opening of a Franco-Uzbek business forum in Samarkand , architectural jewel on the ancient Silk Road.
“For seven years, you have undertaken a clear policy of regional appeasement and stability and the opening and modernization of your economy. We believe in this policy, we support it, we want to encourage it and we want to participate in it,” he said alongside his counterpart. “The French government has confidence in your strategy,” he insisted.
Since 2016, Uzbekistan has been banking on openness and reforms to attract foreign investors and on the diversification of its partners to establish its independence, particularly vis-à-vis the former tutelary power Russia. If he brought his country out of the 25 years of isolation imposed by his predecessor, the feared Islam Karimov, of whom he was a faithful servant, President Mirzioïev does not, however, suffer any challenge. And in July 2022, 21 people were killed during rare protests that escalated.
Emmanuel Macron made no public reference to the situation of the rule of law in this country, to the regime described as authoritarian by NGOs, but he assured that French investments would help him on the path to reforms. They offer a “double political guarantee, that of reforms which will continue to be carried out and that of unprecedented strategic support from France in the region”, he said.
“Be confident”
The French uranium specialist Orano has announced the first extraction activities in Uzbekistan which it aims to develop. The French electricity giant EDF, for its part, concluded a pre-contract for the realization of two hydroelectric projects and the French group TotalEnergies a memorandum of understanding for the extension of the Tutly solar power plant. President Mirzioyev for his part praised “a new era of cooperation that is beginning” between the two countries, as well as “mutual understanding and trust”.
“The reforms are irreversible”, “we will continue our policy of openness”, he said, assuring that he wanted to “build a democratic country”, with a “strong civil society”. “Have confidence, you have the president’s word,” he concluded, promising to create “the best conditions” possible for French companies. The two leaders announced that their two countries would initiate discussions to conclude a strategic partnership by the end of 2023.
Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in Uzbekistan on Wednesday evening from neighboring Kazakhstan, completes a two-day visit to Central Asia intended to strengthen the French presence in a former Russian precinct increasingly courted by China, Turkey and Russia. ‘Europe. He is the first French president to visit this country since François Mitterrand in 1994. A sign of this good understanding, several agreements have been concluded in energy and the modernization of Uzbek infrastructure.
Strategic cooperation
The French Treasury, for its part, will grant loans for the supply of drinking water in the Kachkadarya region (south) even though Uzbekistan is a largely desert country. Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia with 35 million inhabitants, is also very popular with China and Turkey. But Russia remains very present there and has recently started delivering gas there. In Astana, Emmanuel Macron also called on Wednesday to “accelerate” the strategic partnership with Kazakhstan and praised the refusal of any “vassalization” of the country, particularly vis-à-vis Russia, despite the “pressure” suffered.
Contracts relating to strategic minerals — with cooperation in geological research –, the production of vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease and the development of a major wind farm in collaboration with TotalEnergies have been signed. Like François Mitterrand in 1994, the Head of State will visit, before leaving for Paris, several legendary sites in Samarkand, where the warlord Tamerlane had sumptuous buildings built in the 14th century.