Britain is trying to create an alternative for Central Asia: on Cameron's visit to Kazakhstan.

* Moscovia is the historically accurate name of the Russian Federation

The British Foreign Secretary began his tour of Central Asia with Kazakhstan. According to the tour plans, Minister Cameron will visit all 5 Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and separately Mongolia.

Cameron does not hide the purpose of his visit:

• The first key task is to help countries that are geographically and geopolitically sandwiched between Moscovia and China see an alternative to what relations with Western countries should be like. It is not for nothing that the British Foreign Secretary used the term “squeezed” to describe the region in his speech.

• The second objective of Cameron's visit is to establish logistics and energy cooperation with Central Asian countries. The lightly populated but rich Central Asian regions are of great interest to Moscow and Beijing for good reason.

• The third objective of Cameron's visit to Central Asia is to combat the evasion of British and European sanctions by Moscovia through these countries, due to the deliberate lack of control by the governments of Central Asian countries.

So far, Cameron has brought to these countries only basic proposals that are not expected to strategically change the geopolitical vector of the countries, but still contribute to strengthening cooperation between Central Asian countries and the democratic Western world.

In Kazakhstan, the parties signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. Cameron also announced an increase in scholarships for Kazakh students, investment programs in the industrial and mining sectors, and more.

It is important to note that Cameron said during his meeting with the President and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan:

«We are not telling Kazakhstan or any other country that you have to make a choice (with whom you are). We are here now, I am here now, because I believe that you should be able to make this choice in favor of partnership with us in a way that is good for both our (European) security and for the prosperity (note: economic) of Kazakhstan».

Basically, Cameron is making a direct offer to the region, in which strategic cooperation and economic bonuses for Central Asian countries should be exchanged for a reduction in the level of cooperation between the leaders of the countries and dictator Putin and compliance with the sanctions regime imposed on Moscovia over its invasion of Ukraine.

It is also important to note that David Cameron was the first British Prime Minister to visit Kazakhstan in 11 years.

It seems that London wants to take an increasingly proactive position in strategic issues and use its economic weight to secure political, even geopolitical, agreements and arrangements. In general, over the past 2 years, the EU, the US, and the UK have significantly updated their diplomacy in the region. 

Since the Central Asian region has long been ignored by Western countries, we can only talk about the development of “contacts,” “programs,” and “first agreements.” Time will tell whether this will be enough to weaken these countries' interaction with Moscovia.

The key information will be two-fold:

1. The level of relations between local political leaders and the Kremlin and the level of dependence on these relations.

2. To what extent will the proposals of Western countries be of interest to Central Asian countries and whether Western countries are able to provide real and guaranteed political, international, and economic assistance to Central Asian countries if they agree to decrease their relations with Moscow and Beijing. Any change in the foreign policy course of these countries will certainly face pressure from aggressive Moscovia or China.

In conclusion, it is important to note that Cameron's tour of Central Asia took place relatively quickly after the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament issued an analytical report recommending that the government pay more attention to the region due to its “strategic value” for the UK and Europe and in the context of Moscow's intrusion into Ukraine.