UK - The Times Of Central Asia

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Visit by UK’s Cameron Doesn’t Oblige Central Asian Countries to Do Anything, Expert Says

British Foreign Minister David Cameron's grand tour of Central Asia last month was an attempt to remind those of us in Central Asia about investment and sanctions, Kazakhstani economist Aidarkhan Kusainov has told The Times of Central Asia. Over several days in late April, Cameron visited the five countries of Central Asia, demonstrating the UK's intentions to participate in developing economic ties with the region. The visit was closely monitored by the international media, which said Britain's main motive was to reiterate its interests. In the countries chosen by the head of the UK Foreign Office for the tour, the interest in his visit was not so acute. Cameron himself assured them that he was not going to force the leaders to choose between Russia and China on the one hand and the West on the other. However, experts believe that the geopolitical component was still present, as the war in Ukraine has sharply increased attention to the region -- and not only on the part of British leadership. "We are not saying to Kazakhstan or any other country that you have to make a choice, or that we are asking you not to choose to partner and trade with Russia or with China or with anyone else. We are here because we believe that you should be able to choose to partner with us in a way that reflects positively on both our common security and our common prosperity," Cameron said before meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu. The British Foreign Secretary made a similar statement during his visit to Kyrgyzstan. Following a trip to Kazakhstan, where Cameron also met with President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, it was stated that economic cooperation between the two countries has great prospects. In addition, it's worth noting that bilateral trade turnover between Britain and Kazakhstan exceeds the total bilateral turnover of all other countries in the region. Furthermore, Cameron commented on British mining companies' interest in Kazakhstan. "I think we can still do a lot more in the sphere of small business. We talked about how to remove bureaucracy and barriers for small- and medium-sized businesses to settle and work here. And I think in all areas, whether it's education, whether it's the economy, whether it's energy, whether it's climate change, there's a whole range of things that we can do in partnership. And I want that to happen next year, in the coming years," he said. For his part, Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu noted the special role of the UK in Air Astana's recent IPO and the creation of the Astana International Financial Center. "Given the recently adopted in London roadmap on fossil minerals, we considered the possibility of implementing advanced projects in the field of important raw materials, development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor and green energy. We agreed to work together to overcome global challenges, including the fight against climate change, environmental protection and effective management of water resources. We reaffirmed our interest in expanding trade and investment...

UK Irrigation Industry Kyrgyzstan

U.K. Company to Manufacture Innovative Material to Improve Irrigation in Kyrgyzstan

Back in November 2023, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov met head of Concrete Canvas, Will Crawford in Cardiff to discuss the establishment of a plant in Kyrgyzstan. On 23 April representatives of the company travelled to the Chui region of northern Kyrgyzstan for further negotiations attended by Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers - Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, Bakyt Torobayev and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Concrete Canvas, produces waterproof flexible concrete filled geosynthetic composite mats used for lining irrigation canals to prevent erosion and reduce seepage losses. Hailing the benefits of the product, Torobayev stated, “Across Kyrgyzstan, the length of canals is 30 thousand kilometres, including 11 thousand kilometres of -unsurfaced- canals. By laying concrete material on these canals, we will avoid seepage of water and ensure its efficient use. Kyrgyzstan is an agricultural country with a lot of arable land, so we really need such materials. The plan is to build the company’s plant in the Osh region in south Kyrgyzstan in the near future.” Material produced by the Kyrgyzstan plant will meet domestic demand and could also be exported to Russia and Uzbekistan.

UK Bilateral Relations

Britain’s Cameron to Central Asia: Work with Us

Britain’s foreign secretary is in Central Asia this week, seeking deeper ties with a part of the world seen as increasingly vital to international security, energy flows and efforts to combat climate change. The trip, which David Cameron described as overdue, followed criticism that Britain had neglected what the envoy’s own office describes as a “pivotal region of the world.” Cameron´s visit comes months after a British parliamentary committee report said there was a perceived “lack of seriousness” in Britain’s engagement with Central Asia. The committee said Russia and China were courting the region, while Britain was “a leading enabler for corrupt Central Asian elites and a key node for capital flight out of the region.” Cameron spent the first day of his trip in Tajikistan, meeting President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe and visiting the Nurek hydropower project, which supplies about 70% of the country’s electricity. He will also visit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. “These countries aren’t often talked about in the U.K., so you might ask why,” Cameron said on Monday. “Well, these countries are sandwiched between China, Russia, Afghanistan and Iran. They’re making a choice of who to work with, and in a more competitive and contested world, if you want to protect and promote British interests, you need to get out there and compete.” Britain intends to provide investment funds for small businesses as well as “green” projects that can mitigate the effects of climate change, Cameron said. Without providing specifics, he told Tajik television that he and Rahmon discussed security and “all the difficulties and conflicts in the region.” The Islamic State group, which is said in some quarters to have increasingly recruited Central Asians into its ranks, claimed responsibility for the killing of more than 140 people by gunmen who attacked the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22. Several Tajik migrants are among the detained suspects. Cameron will “advance discussions on sanctions circumvention, human rights and reform,” his office said. Britain is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, which has had success in dodging Western sanctions, partly by trading with Europe via Central Asia. For example, British firms´ exports to Kyrgyzstan have soared by over 1,100%, Sky News reported. “Major European economies are quietly continuing their economic cooperation with Moscow by circumventing sanctions to take advantage of the vacated market,” says a commentary in the Center for European Policy Analysis, which is based in Washington. “And they’re doing it by finding partners in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.” Cameron praised the Nurek Dam as an example of the kind of “great schemes” that can help reduce the use of coal-fired power plants and drive down carbon emissions by providing clean energy from Central Asia to South Asia under the CASA-1000 project. On the second leg of his tour, Cameron arrived in Kyrgyzstan later on April 22, where he met with President Sadyr Japarov. They exchanged views on the prospects for Kyrgyz-British cooperation in the political, trade,...

Kazakhstan Critical minerals UK Strategic Partnership

Kazakhstan and Great Britain Sign Strategic Partnership on Critical Minerals

A strategic partnership on critical minerals has been signed by Iran Sharkhan, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction, and Nusrat Ghani, UK’s Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, Minister of State for the Investment Security Unit, and Minister for Industry and Economic Security. The document was signed in London at the Mineral Processing and Circular Economy Business Forum (March 11-15). At his meeting with Nusrat Ghani, Mr Sharkhan discussed Kazakhstan’s principal aims, including the exchange of raw materials for technology and entry into the global value chain. He also encouraged British companies’ involvement in investment projects in Kazakhstan. The forum included B2B meetings, where entrepreneurs from Kazakhstan and Great Britain discussed collaboration in the field of critical raw materials and specific project proposals. The Kazakh delegation also held meetings with UK mining and metallurgical companies: Techmet, Maritime House Ltd., Ionic Rare Earth, Mkango Resources Ltd., Haig Barrett Partners, and FSEE.