BISHKEK -- British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he's seeking to highlight the common interests of Britain and Kyrgyzstan on his first visit to the Central Asian country in his new job as foreign secretary.
Cameron told RFE/RL in an interview on April 22 that he believes the two countries had "a whole series" of common interests on their agendas, particularly the areas of climate change, trade, education, and security.
The former British prime minister, who 11 years ago was the first British leader to visit Central Asia, also said his meetings with President Sadyr Japarov covered the importance of healthy and functioning democracies, and that this is in the interest of both Britain and Kyrgyzstan.
Cameron noted that the world has become a more competitive and contested place in which "big powers are muscling around" trying to win partners. Without naming any country in particular, he said his message to Kyrgyzstan was that it doesn't have to choose one partner over another or reject partners it already has.
"We're saying we are a new partner that is keen to work with you with common interests, where we can make success together," Cameron told RFE/RL.
He noted that Kyrgyzstan was "investing hugely" in education, while Britain believes in the "importance of the English language" and wants to help promote that.
Asked about concerns over the deteriorating state of press freedom and the shrinking civic space in Kyrgyzstan, a country that was once called "an island of democracy in Central Asia," and other states in the region, Cameron said he raised these issues in his meeting with Japarov.
"We talked about the importance of voluntary bodies, charities, nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations," he said.
Countries should always respect each other's differences and approaches, but he said that in his view, civil society organizations play a role in "helping to make our democracies work better, and that's the approach very much that we take in the United Kingdom."
On Russia's war in Ukraine, Cameron said his message was that it's wrong because Ukraine is an independent sovereign country just like Kyrgyzstan, and Britain is helping Ukraine to fight off the illegal invasion.
"But I think there's a broader message for everyone about the importance of sovereignty, the importance of borders, the importance of respecting those things, and I think that's a message that people want to hear [and are] very receptive to hear," he said.
Cameron visited Israel before arriving in Central Asia. He said his message there was that Britain wants the fighting to stop and the hostages released.
"Our message is one of: let's have a pause in the fighting. Let's turn that into the hostage release. Let's turn that into a sustainable cease-fire where we deal with the problems of the conflict," he said.
