Rare earths, Ukraine top agenda on French President Macron's historic visit to Mongolia

BEIJING (AP) — Access to rare earth minerals and Russia’s war against Ukraine topped the agenda on French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit to Mongolia.

Macron met with his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Sunday in the capital Ulaanbaatar and pledged cooperation on the extraction and trade of minerals used in satellites, cell phones and other key technologies.

The visit was the first by a French head of state to Mongolia, a landlocked democracy of 3 million people twice the size of Texas sandwiched between Russia and China.

Mongolia’s grasslands, mountains and deserts hold vast deposits of coal, copper and lesser-known minerals vital to the modern economy.