United Kingdom - The Times Of Central Asia

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Critical Minerals

Dushanbe and London Agree on Cooperation on Critical Minerals

The Tajik government has approved a draft memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom on cooperation in the field of critical minerals. The agreement is expected to be concluded between Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies and the UK government. The draft memorandum emphasizes the strategic importance of critical minerals for the global economy. These resources are essential for industrial development, advanced technologies, and the transition to low-carbon energy systems. The document notes that sustainable and transparent supply chains for such minerals are crucial for economic security. The market for these resources remains vulnerable due to the high concentration of production in a limited number of countries and the risk of supply disruptions. Cooperation between Tajikistan and the UK aims to diversify supply sources and promote the development of more sustainable international supply chains for the extraction and processing of raw materials. The parties also intend to implement high sustainable development standards throughout project lifecycles, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. The memorandum also includes the possibility of export credit and project insurance, subject to certain conditions. In addition to business cooperation, the agreement provides for the development of scientific and educational initiatives. In particular, the following measures are planned: the creation of academic partnerships; the exchange of experience between research institutes; strengthening the institutional capacity of the mining sector. A joint working group on critical minerals will be established to coordinate cooperation, with meetings planned twice a year. The memorandum will be valid for five years, with the possibility of automatic renewal. Tajikistan has significant reserves of several strategic resources. According to geologists, there are indications of lithium deposits in the country, a key metal used in the production of electric vehicle batteries and electronics. Rare earth elements have also been identified, including potential deposits of cerium and praseodymium, which are used in electronics and renewable energy technologies. In addition, the country has reserves of niobium and tantalum.

Economic Cooperation

UK and Kyrgyzstan Expand Financial Cooperation

The Kyrgyz Republic Capital Markets Day was held in London, where representatives of the UK financial and investment community met with Kyrgyz officials to discuss prospects for expanding banking and investment cooperation. The Kyrgyz delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce Mederbek Tumanov. During his working visit to London, Tumanov held meetings with representatives of the investment banks Oppenheimer and Citi, presenting Kyrgyzstan’s macroeconomic indicators for recent years and outlining the country’s fiscal policy and structural reforms. According to the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Kyrgyzstan aims to improve its sovereign credit rating, which would facilitate the country’s access to international capital markets. During the discussions, particular attention was given to creating a predictable regulatory environment for investors. The Kyrgyz government also seeks to reduce the cost of external borrowing and strengthen the confidence of international investors. During the visit, the Kyrgyz delegation met with business representatives, including DG and Bankinvest, to discuss opportunities for attracting British private capital to key sectors of the Kyrgyz economy. According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy, the British delegates expressed interest in expanding investment cooperation. Tumanov also participated in a meeting of the Kyrgyz-British Business Council, where participants discussed prospects for bilateral investment and the promotion of Kyrgyzstan’s economic priorities in the British market. During the event, the Kyrgyz representatives presented a number of potential investment projects to British investors, including initiatives related to the development of critical minerals, financial market development, and closer banking cooperation. According to Kyrgyz authorities, the interest shown by British businesses reflects growing international investor attention to Kyrgyzstan and the wider Central Asian region.

CA5+UK

UK Expands Strategic Engagement in Central Asia Amid Growing Global Competition

The world’s largest economies have recently increased their focus on Central Asia. The United Kingdom, alongside the U.S., the European Union, and China, is seeking to strengthen partnerships in a region that was previously not among its top foreign policy priorities. Britain Replicates an Established Format Throughout the years of independence, Kazakhstan and its regional neighbors were often perceived as operating within Russia’s sphere of influence. The war in Ukraine and broader geopolitical shifts have altered international attitudes toward Central Asia. Major powers are now intensifying dialogue with the region, with particular emphasis on economic cooperation. At the end of February, foreign ministers met in London under the Central Asia-UK (CA5+1) format. Although this was the first meeting of its kind in the British capital, the format mirrors similar mechanisms already used by the U.S., the European Union, Russia, China, and Japan. Participants noted that the CA5+1 format has proven to be an effective mechanism for structured and substantive engagement with external partners. The regional agenda is addressed comprehensively, reflecting Central Asian priorities while creating additional opportunities to advance economic initiatives and implement joint projects. Particular attention has been paid to trade diversification, industrial cooperation, sustainable infrastructure development, and unlocking Central Asia’s potential in critical minerals and renewable energy. The meeting also covered economic growth prospects, key challenges facing Central Asian economies, and the expansion of trade and investment. Logistics was a central topic, including the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, widely known as the Middle Corridor. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasized the strategic importance of Central Asia as a dynamically developing region characterized by sustained economic growth, expanding regional cooperation, and a growing role in international affairs. According to the British participants, the region’s countries are pursuing a pragmatic approach, strengthening connectivity and expanding their participation in shaping a modern architecture of economic and political cooperation. Education and Finance Interest in British education continues to grow across all five Central Asian countries. Four branches of British universities are operating in Kazakhstan, and nearly 6,000 students have earned British degrees through the Bolashak international scholarship program. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have announced plans to establish international financial centers modeled on the Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan. British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Timothy Smart said that work is underway to create an international financial center in Tashkent based on international arbitration standards. Like the Astana model, the new center will operate under English common law. British Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Nicholas Bowler highlighted London’s role in assisting with legislation for the International Dispute Resolution Center, which will operate under English law and be located in the Issyk-Kul region. Greater participation by Central Asian companies on the London Stock Exchange is also anticipated. Logistics and Resources British diplomats have placed particular emphasis on cooperation in critical minerals, a priority within the United Kingdom’s global strategy. Projects are underway across the region, accompanied by new agreements and industrial partnerships. Agreements have reportedly been reached between the Kazakh producer Zhezkazganredmet and the British...

C5-UK

Uzbekistan Eyes UKEF Backing and Market Access at C5–UK Talks

London is hosting the first formal meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers with the United Kingdom on February 26, opening a new “Central Asia–UK” ministerial track after a broader parliamentary program in London earlier in the week. Foreign ministers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are attending. Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev is expected to hold bilateral talks with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, while Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev has also been holding meetings in London focused on trade, investment, and critical minerals cooperation. With delegations from all five Central Asian countries present, the format provides scope for further bilateral engagements on the margins. On the eve of the ministerial meeting, Central Asian foreign ministers, led by Kazakhstan’s Yermek Kosherbayev, held a session with the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cooperation with Central Asia, with British MPs emphasizing political dialogue, legislative exchange, and deeper interparliamentary ties as foundations for advancing economic and regional cooperation. For Tashkent, the London meeting comes after a burst of bilateral engagement that has put finance and infrastructure at the center of the relationship. On February 17, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Central Asia and Azerbaijan, Lord John Alderdice, and highlighted how heavily Uzbekistan has leaned on London’s markets: Uzbek sovereign and corporate bonds worth more than $15 billion have been placed on the London Stock Exchange, while trade turnover has doubled over the past five years, according to the presidential press service. Mirziyoyev also flagged potential projects spanning energy, finance, geology, and transport, and the sides agreed to prepare a joint roadmap. That roadmap is already acquiring project language. Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Jamshid Kuchkarov, met Alderdice in Tashkent with representatives of the London Stock Exchange Group, Arup, and UK Export Finance (UKEF), as well as the UK ambassador, Timothy Smart. According to the Uzbek government, talks focused on transport and logistics infrastructure—rail and road projects, airport modernization—alongside green energy and public–private partnerships. The same meeting produced a memorandum of understanding between Arup and the Ministry of Economy and Finance aimed at engineering and transport infrastructure planning and capacity-building for regions. Alderdice has also put a number on the UK’s offer. Speaking at a UK–Uzbekistan infrastructure conference, he said the UK has “about £4 billion available for export guarantees in Uzbekistan specifically,” linking the figure to potential backing for projects ranging from rail and airports to urban development. He pointed to London as a venue for Uzbek IPOs and bond issuance and said he was exploring potential collaboration with Uzbekistan’s mining sector, noting that the city also hosts the London Metal Exchange. The data suggests why Uzbekistan is pushing: the UK reported total trade in goods and services with Uzbekistan of £2.2 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025, including £545 million in UK exports and £1.6 billion in imports. Uzbek borrowers have already treated London as more than a diplomatic stop. In 2024, Uzbekistan’s National Bank...

Sanctions

UK Adds Uzbekistan-Based Companies and Tashkent Businessman to Russia Sanctions List

Britain has expanded its Russia sanctions regime to include four companies based in Uzbekistan and one Tashkent-born businessman, according to official documents published on 18 December 2025. The measures form part of a wider update that added 24 new individuals and entities to the UK’s consolidated sanctions list under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The update was set out in a Financial Sanctions Notice issued by HM Treasury and an accompanying Foreign Office policy paper, “List of Russia sanctions targets, 18 December 2025.” The documents confirm that all newly designated names are now subject to an asset freeze and associated financial restrictions in the UK. The four Uzbekistan-linked companies named in the notice are Fargona Kimyo Zavodi LLC, also listed under the English alias Fergana Chemical Plant; Gelion Business Trade MCHJ, registered in Tashkent; Raw Materials Cellulose MCHJ, based in the Jizzakh region; and LLC JV Chemistry International, located in the Navoi region. Each company is subject to an asset freeze, requiring that any funds or economic resources they own or control in the UK be frozen and that UK persons do not make funds or resources available to them without a licence. The Treasury notice also applies restrictions on trust services. Under UK sanctions law, this restricts UK persons from providing trust services to or for the benefit of designated persons unless an exemption applies or a licence is granted. Compliance guidance is published by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and linked through the British government’s Sanctions List. The documents do not provide detailed descriptions of the companies’ commercial activities, instead using standard statutory wording. In each case, the Secretary of State notes that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the entity “is or has been involved in destabilising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine,” including by making available goods or technologies that could contribute to those outcomes. The sanctions update also includes Rustam Muminov, born in Tashkent in 1953. The Treasury notice lists his nationalities as Uzbek, Israeli, and Russian. Muminov is subject to an asset freeze and trust services restrictions, with the reason stated being that the British authorities have reasonable grounds to suspect he has been involved in destabilizing Ukraine by providing financial services or by making available funds, economic resources, goods, or technology. The Foreign Office policy paper groups the new designations with others added on the same date, which include entities linked to Russia’s energy sector, financial circumvention, and the military-industrial complex. The government says the measures are intended to limit access to financial services and resources that could support Russia’s actions against Ukraine.

Education

UK-Based Really English Partners with Tajikistan’s Education Ministry

Tajikistan is deepening its educational cooperation with the United Kingdom through a new agreement between the Ministry of Education and Science and British digital learning firm Really English. The partnership aims to roll out English language and digital education programs across Tajikistan’s universities. First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Homid Khoshimzoda, held talks in Dushanbe with Nigel Killick, head of Really English, to define the cooperation framework. The two sides explored ways to broaden English instruction, adopt modern pedagogical methods, and deploy innovative digital learning tools. Khoshimzoda welcomed the British initiative, saying that English proficiency remains a top priority in Tajikistan’s educational policy as it broadens students’ access to global academic and professional opportunities. Killick thanked the ministry for its support and affirmed Really English’s commitment to designing interactive English courses, boosting teacher training, and building university partnerships in Tajikistan. Founded in London in 1999, Really English creates digital tools for learning English—from foundational courses to test preparation. The company works with more than 1,000 corporate clients and over 300 educational institutions worldwide, offering academic, business, and conversational English courses, as well as tailored university programs. Advancing Tajik-British Educational Cooperation The agreement marks another milestone in Tajikistan’s broader push to internationalize its education system. In recent years, Dushanbe has actively built academic partnerships with British institutions. On May 31, representatives of the State Agency “Center for International Programs” met with officials from the University of Greenwich to discuss Tajik students’ access to international programs, scholarships, and internships, particularly in economics, finance, and management. British university representatives reaffirmed their support for joint initiatives and expressed readiness to expand academic exchanges and scholarship offerings for Tajik students. British Support for Innovation and Teacher Development The UK has increased its educational engagement across Central Asia in recent years. In 2022, the British Council resumed operations in Tajikistan with a focus on improving teacher training and English language instruction. Joint initiatives with the Ministry of Education and Science have helped modernize curricula and expand STEM and digital education. With UK support, robotics and programming courses have been introduced for schoolchildren, and Tajik universities, including the Tajik National University (TNU), have launched partnerships with British institutions such as the University of Central Lancashire. The UK is also strengthening educational cooperation in other Central Asian states. In Turkmenistan, British experts are working on teacher training and curriculum development, and Chevening Scholarships continue to be available to Turkmen students. In May 2025, Turkmenistan participated in the World Education Forum in London, where global education trends were discussed.