PARIS (Reuters) -&nbsp;Mongolia&nbsp;will&nbsp;supply&nbsp;critical&nbsp;metals&nbsp;to&nbsp;France&nbsp;needed for its energy transition, President Emmanuel&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;said on Sunday during the first ever visit to Ulaanbaatar by a serving French president.
"We decided to work together to boost our energy sovereignty through the&nbsp;supply&nbsp;of&nbsp;critical&nbsp;metals&nbsp;from your country, which has this resource," he told a news conference with the&nbsp;Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, who called&nbsp;France&nbsp;its "third neighbour".
A partnership with nuclear group Orano, which is working on developing a uranium mine in&nbsp;Mongolia, would be key,&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;added.&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;stopped in&nbsp;Mongolia&nbsp;on his way back from the G-7 in Japan.
Nearly 80% of&nbsp;Mongolia's total exports go to China, but the mineral-rich country is working to expand trade and mining relationships beyond its two big neighbours China and Russia and hopes to become a bridge between Europe and Asia.
Rare earth minerals are essential to many high-tech manufacturing processes and are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, portable electronics, microphones and speakers.
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(Reporting by Michel Rose)

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Mongolia to supply critical metals to France, Macron says