Whilst on an official visit to Astana, French President Emmanuel Macron outlines his country's priorities for economic cooperation with Kazakhstan, listing the exploitation of "rare earth and critical minerals", such as lithium and uranium, as essential to Europe's future nuclear and electric vehicle programmes. France is the fifth-biggest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, mainly as a result of the involvement of energy giant TotalEnergies in the massive Kashagan offshore oil field project. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES