Mongolia finds a new friend: France


Briefly: French President Emmanuel Macron stopped in Mongolia on Sunday en route home from the G7 Summit in Japan. The visit was the first ever by a French president.

Mongolia isn’t just landlocked – it borders China in three directions, and Russia in the other. So it’s no surprise Mongolia sends 86% of its exports to China, while cooperating with Russia on a key new natural gas pipeline (to China).

But the world’s most sparsely populated nation (3 million folks in an area twice the size of Texas) is catching the eye of outside powers. It’s sitting on $1T to $3T worth of minerals, including elements like copper that are vital for the green transition.

And countries like France want in on that action. A French nuclear firm is already working to develop a uranium mine there, and Macron pitched a broader critical minerals supply deal while in town.

Intrigue’s take: One of the most intriguing moments was when Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh called France his country’s “third neighbour”. Mongolia has had a third neighbour policy for decades as it’s tried to find new friends and reduce its reliance on China and Russia.

Sitting on such staggering wealth, Mongolia will have no shortage of willing ‘new neighbours’. The question is how its actual two neighbours (China and Russia) might respond.

Also worth noting:

  • Macron is the second European leader to visit Mongolia this year, afterthe first-ever visit by a Polish leader took place in April.
  • Macron’s was the first official visit by a French president, but President Chirac reportedly made a secret visit to Mongolia back in 1975. Relations date back as far as the 13th century, when the Mongol king wrote to the French king proposing they conquer Damascus together.
Latest Author Articles
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire wobbles

It’s been three weeks since Israel and Hamas signed a deal that put a tentative end to their ~16 months of devastating conflict.  The pact ramped up the flow of aid into the strip and enabled the return of an initial 16 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. […]

14 February, 2025
Did the US just ditch Ukraine?

As world leaders, chief diplomats, and defence leaders alike board their private jets to Munich today, just know that their teams are re-writing every briefing note and messaging strategy in the wake of Washington’s mic drop only hours ago.  Here’s what happened.  Speaking first from Brussels at the UK-chaired Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, the […]

13 February, 2025
Canada’s Trudeau resigns as PM, to stay on until new leader chosen

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned as Liberal Party leader and will end his term as PM as soon as an internal party successor has been named, Trudeau told the press at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday morning.  Trudeau’s resignation ends his nine-year term in power, marked by an open-revolt ending with numerous […]

6 January, 2025
Biden blocks Nippon Steel deal

With less than two weeks in US President Joe Biden’s term, the outgoing president blocked Japan’s Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9B purchase of US Steel, citing national security and supply chain concerns.

3 January, 2025