Soft nets: how the UK promotes its interests in Central Asia
Britain is changing its attitude towards Central Asia, choosing a systematic approach instead of bilateral cooperation. An inter-party group on Central Asia has been set up in the kingdom's parliament, headed by Labor member Pamela Cox. London's main foreign policy goal in the region is to strengthen its influence on the logistical arteries that run through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
A group in Parliament
A single Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Central Asia has appeared in the British Parliament, which includes 20 high-ranking representatives of both chambers of the country's legislature. Among them are the British Prime Minister's Special Representative for Trade with Central Asian states and Azerbaijan, Lord John Alderdyce, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Emily Thornberry.
Pamela Cox, a member of the House of Commons from the Labour Party, was put in charge of the APPG.
Initially, the British authorities relied on building bilateral relations with each of the countries of the region, but now they have decided to intensify the inter-parliamentary dialogue to implement joint projects.
London began reviewing its approach to cooperation with Central Asian countries five years ago. In 2020, a parliamentary group on Uzbekistan appeared, after the same groups were formed for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
New strategy
In November 2023, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee published a report entitled "Countries at the Crossroads: Britain's Involvement in Central Asia."
The authors of the publication complain that London, in fact, has no strategy in the Central Asian region, and provide recommendations on how to fix this. There are eight chapters in the document in total. Their essence boils down to the fact that the British authorities should pay more attention to the region, "be more ambitious and bolder in matters of regional cooperation, trade, human rights, and cultural exchanges."
It is noted that Britain's more active participation in Central Asia can not only be potentially mutually beneficial, but should also be "considered as a geopolitical imperative."
The text describes in detail the specifics of each of the countries of the region — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and also notes that Russia and China are actively strengthening in the region, which "must be countered."
They plan to do this through diplomacy. Last year, a meeting was held at the level of the Foreign ministers of Central Asia and Britain in the C5+1 format.
In addition, the British embassies in the region have offices of the Ministry of International Development, through which London works with civil society in these countries. The United Kingdom implements its "soft power" policy through the British Council, funding the Creative Spark and Creative Central Asia programs. Their partners are 60 universities, and 65 thousand people have already become participants.
The Chevening program also operates in the region, according to which young politicians from Central Asian countries study in Britain and then occupy key positions at home.
The authors of the report point out that the British authorities interact rather inefficiently with colleagues from the countries of the region. This was subsequently confirmed by a tour of Central Asian countries by David Cameron, who served as head of the Foreign Office in 2024. As the British media wrote at the time, he was not welcomed everywhere.
Nevertheless, Britain has good relations with Kazakhstan: the kingdom has made multibillion-dollar investments in the republic's oil and gas sector. Last year, the parties signed a roadmap for strategic partnership in the field of critical minerals.
Turkmenistan is also of particular interest to London. The British company Gaffney, Cline & Associates conducted an audit of the South Yolotan—Osman field, confirming that there are solid hydrocarbon reserves there, and the energy giant BP is increasing its gas intake capabilities from offshore platforms on the Caspian coast.
The corridor of interaction
Currently, London is seeking to strengthen cooperation on regional issues, in particular, energy security and the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TMTC).
In early June, a meeting was held in the UK on the prospects for the development of transport links in the Caspian region. The meeting participants confirmed the country's interest in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, emphasizing the economic and strategic importance of this route designed to connect Asia with Europe.
According to John Alderdice, London has taken concrete steps to support the development of regional infrastructure, and assistance in the amount of 20 billion pounds is expected to be allocated for transport infrastructure.
During the meeting on the prospects for the development of transport links in the Caspian region, the British authorities also noted that by the end of 2024, Astana, Bishkek and Tashkent were able to receive $ 10 billion through the issuance of sovereign bonds on the London Stock Exchange.
What do the experts think
Rustam Burnashev, an expert on security issues in Central Asia, told Izvestia that cooperation with London has not changed from the point of view of Central Asian countries.
— Almost all countries in the region have a certain level of interaction with the UK, and it is relatively good. For example, British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair was an adviser to Nursultan Nazarbayev for a long time, and London has quite serious economic interests in the oil sector," the political scientist noted.
The expert also recalled that in 2024, the authorities of Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom signed an agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation. In June, the parties reached an agreement on the beginning of military cooperation.
— But still, I cannot say that the intensity or volume of interaction is somehow changing from the point of view of the Central Asian countries. In my opinion, the cooperation remains almost at the same level, there is nothing breakthrough or extraordinary," the expert concluded.
Elena Panina, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies, believes that Central Asian countries are using traditional balancing between powers.
"They strive to get the most benefit, this is such a classic behavior of an oriental merchant, which makes it possible to evaluate certain players quite realistically. Collective Europe is very pleasant in communication, says a lot of pleasant words and offers many interesting projects, but in practice everything turns out to be very modest. At best, one or two projects that are pathetically described in the media," the political scientist believes.
According to her, China ranks first in the region's economy.
"However, his generosity is clearly based on the effectiveness of transactions, and the money he lent will have to be returned. In the Big Game 2.0, Russia has a number of advantages in the field of mutually beneficial economic ties and an important position in the field of security: trusting relationships have been established with the leaders and top managers of the republics, and ties in the scientific community have begun to actively develop," the expert believes.
The analyst emphasized that other players are clearly not going to silently observe the possible strengthening of Russian influence in the region.
"And the local elites are still far from the idea of sharing their historical fate with Russia again. This gives reason to think about the direction of further development, which implies the need for a broader discussion," the expert is sure.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
