Recommendation 25

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

Partially Agree 95. The UK’s ambition and effort - both in terms of resource and senior engagement—in building deeper bilateral relationships in Central Asia is on a positive trajectory. Ministerial engagement has increased. Our footprint across the region and in London has expanded significantly in recent years, with increasing numbers of UK-based staff in the region and in the FCDO’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate, to reflect the bolder approach that we are taking in Central Asia. 96. Our deepening and broadening engagement with the Central Asian countries also allows us to broach topics openly and frankly, as we do with other partners. We regularly raise issues such as human rights and sanctions circumvention in private bilateral discussions, as well as through multilateral channels such as the Universal Periodic Review process in the UN Human Rights Council, and the OSCE—or through targeted visits such as those outlined above on sanctions. Conclusion/recommendation 26: It is important that UK engagement in Central Asia is responsive to what the citizens of the various states want and need. Change in any political sphere in Central Asia is unlikely to take place rapidly, and UK influence is more likely to be successful if it is based on a stable relationship of mutual respect, trust and understanding. Relatively inexpensive programmes (such as in education, English language and creative industries) can make a big difference in terms of creating good will amongst populations and governments in Central Asian countries. We recommend that the UK Government’s strategy governing engagement with countries in the region be characterised by clear long-term goals with corresponding, fully funded, short- and medium-term actions. We suggest that the Government articulates and implements distinct and consistent principles to govern agreements and cooperation, choosing no-regret investments which can be adjusted in light of any changing political situations on the ground. Agree 97. Recent history in Central Asia has shown that the region can be subject to high levels of instability, whether as a result of severe weather conditions, overspill effects of conflicts elsewhere in the region, or domestically driven political shocks. For this reason, the UK maintains a high-level regional strategy which defines core priorities for our work in Central Asia. The current strategy was intended to cover a five year period; this period has seen huge global shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic (and its resulting economic consequences for both the UK and the countries of the region) and also conflicts which have had major repercussions for the region, whether Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine or events in Afghanistan. Given these significant shifts, we are updating this strategy to reflect current realities and to enable us to make clear choices which benefit the interests of the UK in the region. We recognise, in particular, the challenges that the economic situation has brought, and the consequences this has had for the stability and predictability of our programme spend for the region, and we are working to address this. 98. Our investment in recent years in our relationships in Central Asia at all levels – with states and also with civil society and the wider public – has increased the profile of the UK and leaves us well positioned to respond to the changing circumstances across the region. Conclusion/recommendation 27: