Recommendation 21

HM Government · verbatim extract Acknowledged

Partially Agree 83. The illicit drug market costs UK society an estimated £22bn per year and is linked to around half of all homicides, with 95% of heroin thought to come from Afghanistan. In April 2022, the Taliban announced a ban on the use, cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics in Afghanistan. We are working closely with like-minded partners to assess and monitor the implementation and effects of this announcement. No impact on UK drug markets has been identified to date. 84. UK agencies are also highly alert to the threat from synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Along with law enforcement partners, the UK Government stands ready to respond to the threat from synthetic drugs. The Home Office is coordinating work across government to monitor and respond to the risk from synthetic opioids to the UK. 85. We are further strengthening the UK’s domestic defences against money laundering through the second Economic Crime Plan and Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (see above). Trade and Investment Conclusion/recommendation 22: There are opportunities for increased trade and investment for UK companies in Central Asian states. Policies on investment should be clearer and calibrated to its efforts to curb corruption in-country and in the City of London, its ministerial engagement programme, its ethical principles and work to ensure the resilience of critical supply chains. Ministers should be alive to the opportunity to improve standards of corporate governance through encouraging listing of firms on the London Stock Exchange. We recommend that the Government produces a strategy for its approach to trade and investment in Central Asia. This strategy should be clearly communicated to the business community in the UK and relevant interlocutors in the region. We encourage the involvement of Central Asian civil society in any resulting arrangements to help ensure ethical standards are maintained. Agree 86. We agree that it would be beneficial to further demonstrate the UK Government’s approach and commitment to UK businesses and Host Governments in Central Asia, to continue to build confidence and relationships in the region, and therefore trade. 87. The UK’s approach to trade and investment in Central Asia blends foreign policy objectives with trade targets, focusing on strategic campaigns on sectors that have high prosperity value, strategic tie-in, and opportunity to improve standards (taking UK strengths into account). Education, Critical Minerals, Infrastructure and Capital Markets are cornerstones of our approach to Central Asia. 88. In Kazakhstan , there is potential for collaboration on critical minerals, where we have an MoU, signed by the previous Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, to support Kazakh efforts to diversify supply chains and increase investment in production and processing capacity. We have agreed a Road Map of activities to take this MoU forward. We are deepening our higher education links - and signed an MoU between the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Education and UK Department for Business and Trade. The UK remains a top 10 investor in Kazakhstan with total investments over £16 billion. In 2022 alone, the UK invested almost £550m, and overall trade volumes reached £2.7bn. 89. In Uzbekistan , Lord Offord, DBT Minister for Exports, visited from 21 to 24 August to boost economic ties and met Ministers from the Ministry of Investment and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Four Uzbek Deputy Ministers covering Trade, Education, Transport and Digital Technology visited the UK for the 27th Uzbek British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC) on 28 and 29 November, to speak to British businesses about opportunities to expand trade. During UBTIC, Lord Offord signed a bilateral Trade Plan with his counterpart, Deputy Minister Abidov, outlining how we will work together to expand trade in the coming year. The UK financial sector is supporting Uzbekistan’s privatisation of some 20 State Owned Enterprises. We are scoping opportunities in major infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan with UKEF. UK businesses are engaged with Uzbekistan’s mining sector and UK education institutions are exploring opportunities to expand transnational education partnerships. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Uzbekistan was £430 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023. 90. In Kyrgyzstan , our efforts to support UK companies seeking opportunities in the mining sector were amplified during Prime Minister Japarov’s visit to the UK in November. As part of the visit, an MoU was signed on critical minerals with the British Geological Survey and a significant infrastructure deal was signed with a UK company. In Turkmenistan , we are supporting UK companies hoping to secure large deals in water infrastructure. In Tajikistan , British companies are open to trade opportunities, including in green transition technologies and infrastructure. Conclus