Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
Tenth Report - Countries at crossroads: UK engagement in Central Asia
Published 10 Nov 2023
Paragraph 18
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee The UK’s engagement in Central Asia All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
All five Central Asian states are rightly proud of their distinct cultural heritages and histories. Each has unique assets and strengths and fiercely defends its sovereignty. It is important that the UK Government both respects and encourages the independence of the Central Asian countries from their dominating neighbours. The Government should develop tailored approaches to engagement for each one. However, it is also important that the Government remains realistic about the extent to which countries are able to decouple from Russia at the current time and the varying levels of interest in doing so.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Tenth Report - Countries at crossroads: UK engagement in Central Asia (HC 1158), paragraph 18, 10 November 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 January 2024 (deadline 10 January 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with the Committee on the value of closer engagement with Central Asia but responds "Partially Agree" to most recommendations, and "Disagree" to two on illicit finance and sanctions.
- On a Central Asia 5+UK meeting, it agrees and is "exploring opportunities for a Ministerial CA5+UK meeting in 2024", considering the format and agenda.
- On a Diplomatic Academy, it partially agrees, saying it would require "a significant investment in resources" and that the FCDO International Academy's resources are "not currently sufficient"; it will continue to consider informal ways of sharing expertise.
- It disagrees that the UK facilitates kleptocracy through under-enforcement, citing the Economic Crime Acts and a new National Crime Agency Combatting Kleptocracy Cell.
- It disagrees that the REPO Task Force should focus on sanctions evasion in Central Asia, saying it does not have the mandate for regionally focused work, though the UK is prioritising the issue through other channels.