What would Borat say? The prime minister of Kazakhstan has suddenly resigned, in a move which will force his entire Cabinet to also step down.

Danial Akhmetov, premier of the nation lampooned by Sacha Baron Cohen, offered his resignation at a Cabinet meeting, thanking the President for "the high honour and trust shown to me," according to a government statement.

No reason was given for the move, but Mr Akhmetov has previously come under criticism from the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has accused him of poor strategic planning, overspending and other mistakes.

Under the Kazakhstan constitution, the resignation of the Prime Minister automatically triggers the removal of the entire Cabinet. Current ministers will remain in office, led by Karim Masimov, the Deputy Prime Minister, until a new government is appointed. The President is expected to propose his choice at a parliament session on Wednesday.

Mr Nazarbayev, who has run the country since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, is known for keeping ministers on a tight leash, and has previously shuffled senior figures without giving explanation, in order to secure his position and balance the demands of the various elite groups which hold power.

After being re-elected as President in 2005, he weakened the Prime Minister’s role in the new cabinet, putting Mr Masimov in charge of strategic decisions. Mr Masimov, formerly Mr Nazarbayev’s chief aide, is viewed as one of the most influential figures in the President’s inner circle.

Oraz Zhandosov, leader of the opposition Nagyz Ak Zhol party and former National Bank chairman, said that Mr Akhmetov’s resignation was expected "because he has done little good" for the economy.

"He was weak in terms of ideas and ability to build a good team," Mr Zhandosov told the Associated Press.

With its vast energy resources, the Central Asian nation has become one of the most economically successful post-Soviet nations, aided by generous investment from Western energy companies. With annual economic growth of almost 10 per cent over the past several years, it produces around one million barrels of oil a day, which is largely sent to the West.

Despite its wealth of energy though, Kazakhstan remains reluctantly better-known for producing a more dubious attraction: Borat Sagdiyev, the spoof journalist portrayed by Cohen, whose character insists - among other things - that his favoured mode of transport in his home country is a wooden cart pulled by peasant women and that wine is made of horse urine.

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