Interview With France’s Ambassador to Mongolia, Sebastien Surun – The Diplomat

This 12 months marks the 57th anniversary of the institution of diplomatic relations between France and Mongolia. France has lengthy been a significant supporter of Mongolia’s independence, sovereignty, and modernization; the French have demonstrated a eager curiosity in Mongolian tradition, traditions, and anthropological analysis. 

Sebastian Surun, the ambassador of France to Mongolia, spoke with The Diplomat’s Bolor Lkhaajav on France-Mongolia bilateral relations, short-to-medium time period bilateral actions, and his private views on regional safety points involving Mongolia’s neighbors. 

Throughout your appointment as ambassador of France to Mongolia, by which sectors is France aiming to boost cooperation? What end result do you anticipate within the medium time period?

Once we established diplomatic relationship again in 1965 – or you would say re-established, as a result of from the thirteenth century there was a really dense move of contacts between the French kings and the Mongol rulers – the worldwide context was a chilly conflict between the Soviet Union and the West. We are actually in a unique world, one which is each extra open by way of state-state cooperation, with extra particular person, civil society, and state company; and in addition tougher, as we see with Russia’s conflict in opposition to Ukraine.

So, we glance by the prism of that completely different world at what France and Mongolia share. Mongolia and France share values of worldwide regulation and the peaceable settlement of variations. We share our understanding of the significance of freedom, open society and democratic rule; and we share an urge for food for cooperation, connectivity, exchanges. 

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From the French facet, all of that’s mirrored in our Indo-Pacific Technique – the place Mongolia positively has a spot

Final 12 months we celebrated 60 years of Mongolia’s admission to the United Nations. I imagine this can be a important milestone for Mongolia. In Mongolia’s pursuit in searching for worldwide recognition, France not solely supported Mongolia’s membership in 1961, we have been additionally amongst its earliest supporters, when the prospect of membership was first debated in summer time 1946. 

Furthermore, multilateralism is, after all, a central element each of Mongolia’s overseas coverage and of the numerous values we share. And multilateralism is on the coronary heart of France’s three priorities in the direction of Mongolia. 

Our first precedence is supporting Mongolia’s sovereignty. A sensible instance of France supporting Mongolia’s sovereignty, by enhancing the service a democratic authorities delivers to its inhabitants, is in our main civil society program. For instance, we have now 42 hearth vans delivered and educated a whole lot of personnel from the Nationwide Emergency Administration Company, and have already assisted 50 operational helicopter flights and dozens of victims. France’s efforts in supporting Mongolia’s sovereignty even have seen rising hyperlinks between our two parliaments, our judiciary, and tutorial communities, together with suppose tanks. 

Our second precedence is preventing local weather change. Our focus, together with by B2B [business-to-business] exchanges, is in supporting vitality independence by renewables, boosting meals safety, and creating agriculture exchanges to cut back greenhouse fuel emissions and improve the earnings of herders who produce sustainably. Mongolia becoming a member of the World Methane Pledge throughout COP27 was a big dedication.

Our third precedence is probably the most seen: selling our shared values by schooling, research, and sports activities. Given Mongolia’s younger inhabitants – median age of 28 – we have now specific deal with youth-based tasks. One instance: The Olympic & Paralympic Video games 2024, which is able to happen in Paris, might be an important alternative for Mongolia’s succesful sports activities groups. I’ve taken private enjoyment from seeing the ladies’s and males’s basketball, cricket, rugby, and judo groups in motion. 

Furthermore, inside our third precedence, we’re additionally selling our shared heritage. Subsequent 12 months, in October 2023, there might be a gap of an exhibition on Chinggis Khaan and the Mongol Empire in Nantes, France.  

In your newest interview, you talked about that France is involved in creating Mongolia’s pure sources – significantly, uranium. What challenges do you foresee for Mongolia to export its uranium both to China, Russia, or third nations, corresponding to France? 

Nuclear vitality certainly makes up greater than half of the electrical energy manufacturing in France, and 25 % extra comes from renewables. This is among the explanation why we have been much less affected than different nations by the worldwide vitality disaster brought on by Russia and its conflict in Ukraine. We see nuclear as one of many key parts of vitality transition, as a result of nuclear vitality manufacturing doesn’t emit carbon. French firms are additionally the one ones on this planet to deal with the entire cycle of nuclear gas, together with managing waste and spent gas. Nuclear know-how has many different makes use of, by which we associate intently with Mongolia: from drugs, archaeology and the manufacturing business, all the way in which to smoke detectors. 

In Mongolia, the French firm, Orano, and the Mongol firm, Monatom, are creating a mining venture to extract pure uranium. The know-how is known as In Situ Restoration and is designed to be very protecting of the setting. The identical know-how is utilized in Kazakhstan. As you’ll anticipate, Mongolia’s Academy of Science has engaged in detailed research of the environmental impacts. 

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I visited the positioning myself earlier this 12 months. With the know-how cleverly positioned underground, it’s merely the attractive Gobi panorama and herds of camels that you just see. When manufacturing of pure uranium from Mongolia begins – among the many prime ten deposits on this planet – the uranium might be exported to one of many few amenities on this planet that may manufacture gas out of the mineral. How and the place this occurs remains to be very open.

And, with our lengthy experience in nuclear vitality, France is able to go additional and help Mongolia too. Small Modular Reactors are a brand new know-how that may in all probability greatest swimsuit the dimensions of Mongolia’s electrical energy and warmth wants. 

Within the meantime, there may be nonetheless rather a lot to be finished to boost Mongolia’s vitality independence. Creating renewable vitality ought to be a precedence, given Mongolia’s enormous potential: its 2.6 TW of renewable vitality [potential] is the whole electrical energy consumption of China immediately. With the appropriate calls made by way of relations with the personal sector and cooperation on points like grid enchancment, much more might occur quickly. 

Taking advantage of Mongolia’s renewable potential will improve the nation’s inexperienced vitality provides, function an environment friendly method to struggle local weather change, present higher air high quality, and guarantee vitality independence from its neighbors. 

France has been one of many main nations to help Mongolia’s pure catastrophe administration capabilities. What different help and coaching France might be implementing throughout your appointment as ambassador?

I have to stress that a lot of what goes on between our two nations isn’t government-driven, however business-to-business. It is a tribute to the maturity of personal enterprise in each nations, driving our exchanges in each regard and understanding how potent financial exchanges and free enterprise could be. 

Our cooperation with Mongolia’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Company is ground-breaking. The numerous trainers who come right here from a various vary of French Civil Safety Items constantly inform me of the incredible spirit, creativity, and responsiveness of their Mongolian counterparts.

Taking this chance, I’m delighted to announce that 12 months, we may have a Civil Safety officer based mostly in Ulaanbaatar. We need to take our cooperation in emergency administration to the subsequent stage.  

France can also be aiding Ulaanbaatar to struggle site visitors congestion. We have to develop an city transport system. The one mass transit venture with financing, and the place research have correctly began throughout the governor’s workplace and engineering bureau, is the French government-financed cable automotive venture. Cable automobiles are used extensively in city transport, they function particularly in chilly and windy circumstances, and so they have a really mild footprint on the bottom. We wish the cable automotive venture to be an reasonably priced and sensible technique of journey for the capital’s entire inhabitants. 

Additionally, I’m happy with what our embassy is attaining in Mongolia. However the essential factor is supporting and facilitating succesful and dynamic businesspeople on either side to have free exchanges and cooperation.

How do you view Mongolia’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Some nations (like India) have come underneath extra stress for not denouncing Russia, whereas different nations (Kazakhstan) have gotten much less stress. In your view, the place does Mongolia fall in that spectrum?

In a area missing integration and cooperation, Mongolia develops right into a extra established and mature democracy. Former President Elbegdorj Tsakhia’s “flame of freedom” is a robust picture of Mongolia. To me, that flame is burning ever stronger in Mongolia, at the same time as democracy has been coming underneath pressure in each a part of the world.  

France understands Mongolia’s geography: Mongolia is really between a rock and a tough place. This may result in vulnerabilities, which some nations really feel they will use to exert stress. And that may impression how the federal government sees Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, and what it chooses to say publicly. However it’s additionally essential to notice that in an open society like Mongolia, these items are debated in public, the place selections could be challenged and scrutinized. 

From my remark, Mongolia’s inhabitants has a deep understanding for what’s at stake in Ukraine. They perceive that that is in regards to the basic values of worldwide regulation and sovereignty. And it’s a couple of nation’s company, by which I imply that nation’s overseas alignment is chosen by its folks, not by drive, not by its neighbors, not by one other overseas energy’s misguided historic revisionism. 

Lastly, I’d simply say that Mongolia is clearly very succesful at creating political area, and in making pragmatic selections in pursuing its multilateral-oriented overseas and safety coverage. It is a view shared by France and the European Union. 

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There are a lot of books written on Mongolia by French students. And you’ve got been in Mongolia for a 12 months now. What was one thing that stunned you about fashionable Mongolian society?

There are certainly superb books written by French students in several fields, for instance, most up-to-date, by Antoine Maire. The French tutorial group on Mongolian research is vastly energetic and cross-disciplinary.

Since arriving, I’ve been impressed by the quiet manner by which each the federal government and the personal sector create area to behave and develop Mongolia’s sovereignty and its financial system, even throughout COVID-19.

I’ve additionally been struck by the vitality emanating from Mongolia’s inhabitants. I imagine its youth, the extent of schooling, but in addition religion within the nation’s future play a significant function. Because the speaker of the Mongolian parliament (The Nice Ikh Khural) Zandanshantar informed me after I first met him, the problem for all of us is to show that democracies can ship. It’s clear that Mongolia’s democracy delivers – possibly not as shortly or as evenly as its folks would possibly need, however the growth has nonetheless been nothing wanting spectacular over one technology. Simply take a look at toddler mortality, entry to increased schooling, dimension of the street community, and e-Mongolia.

As a diplomat, we attempt to determine, perceive, and bridge cultural variations. I see how Mongolia’s historic traditions are saved alive even amongst younger city Mongols. For instance, the reflex of shaking somebody’s hand while you inadvertently discover their foot on the street or elevating a gifted e-book to your head as an indication of respect for books and data. These are fantastically symbolic gestures nonetheless practiced every single day. I’m having fun with studying them too! 

I additionally see many similarities between the Mongols I work with every single day and the normal French spirit referred to as esprit gaulois, from our pre-Roman ancestors the Gauls, who have been supposedly a sympathetic, rebellious, and feisty lot – if you realize the cartoon character Asterix you’ll know what I imply!