Political commentator Hakob Badalyan Telecramyan post.
"In the past days, the dynamic and abundant news did not allow you to draw attention to an event that could be interesting for Armenia, both in a political sense, as comparative.
On March 10-12, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirzijev was on a state visit to Paris. During his visit, a strategic partnership agreement was reached between France and Uzbekistan. Let me remind you that French President Macron arrived in Tashkent on an official visit to November 2023. During that time, he was also in Kazakhstan.
Of course there are two circumstances here. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are large mining uranium, have large reserves. And France is a major uran consumer. Especially after losing positions in Africa, France is trying to find new sources and seeks them in Central Asia.
Apparently, the emphasis is on Uzbekistan. Let me remind you that Uzbekistan is a member of the Organization of Turkic-speaking states. I have drawn your attention to the fact that the French president had a rather active, monthly communication with Turkish President Erdogan in recent months. What emphasis has been made in those contacts? And it is not just that Uzbekistan is part of the "Turkic world" that Turkey has a strategic sense.
The question is that France imagines the transport logistics from Central Asia to Europe. In other words, France is considering the average corridor with Turkey. Both the outcome of the bypass route, such as India-Iran-Armenia-Georgia Black Sea and Europe. One or two years ago, Macron's efforts were noticeable in that direction, but today he is active in contact with Turkey. Therefore, the issue of the middle corridor is relevant. However, the investment portfolio indicator is noteworthy in the context of the high-level French-Uzbek high-level meeting. During Mirziyev's visit, a package of investment projects of 6.5 billion euros was prepared, and a total of 12 billion euros took the French-Uzbek joint investment package.
This is where the picture is a "comparable" opportunity for Armenia, where it is possible to hear one impressive speeches and even toasts about the Armenian-French relations. But how much is the Armenian-French investment package, how much are French investments in Armenia, what large programs are there? Their volume, the scale of the investment portfolio will only allow the real nature and depth of interstate relations.
Of course, it is good that Armenia is making protection from France. But it is a relative indicator of the depth of interstate relations. After all, Armenia is shopping from different countries. Moreover, the scale of purchases from France is not particularly large.
The real level of interstate relations and closeness is measured in investment programs and their intensity. "
