French President Emmanuel Macron’s Malaysia visit on Nov 16-17 will focus on diversifying rare earth supplies, strengthening economic ties and reducing supply chain dependence

KUALA LUMPUR: French President Emmanuel Macron’s upcoming visit to Malaysia will focus, among other things, on diversifying France’s sources of rare earth supplies, which are essential for manufacturing electric motors and electronic devices.

In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, Macron said his visits to Cambodia and Malaysia were aimed at strengthening economic partnerships and safeguarding jobs and industries in France and across its regions.

“In Malaysia, I am coming in particular to diversify our supplies of rare earths. We rarely talk about them, yet they are essential to making the magnets used in certain electric motors and electronic devices,” he said.