New Delhi, India and the United States on Tuesday strengthened a key framework for cooperation in ensuring steady supplies of critical minerals, a move that comes amid growing concerns over export controls imposed by China on rare earth elements and strategic minerals vital to global technology supply chains.
The framework for securing mining supplies and processing of vital minerals was signed on the sidelines of the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi.
“It is critical and timely,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“This framework aims to deepen our cooperation across the entire supply chain of critical minerals and rare earths, including mining, processing, recycling and related investments,” he said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said the framework will promote resilient and diversified supply chains, help finance projects as well as ensure effective management of vital minerals and rare earths.
“It is another sign of how close our cooperation is in a world that has many challenges but also many opportunities,” he said.
In his remarks, Rubio highlighted the strategic partnership between the United States and India and how important it is to the national interests of both countries.
“It is a concrete example of this,” he added, referring to the signing of the agreement.
“We are two countries with strategic interests in ensuring reliable long-term access to critical minerals and supply chains that are important to our innovation economy,” he said.
Rubio also mentioned the US-backed Pax Seleka initiative.
“The foundation for this was laid on February 4 when you joined us at the Critical Minerals Forum that we hosted in Washington, D.C.,” he said, adding that the forum gained momentum after India signed the Pax Silica Agreement.
“Today, it is because we have a strategic and shared interest in the fact that vibrant innovation economies like ours cannot afford to leave the basic materials of these industries vulnerable to a single-source monopoly that could deprive us of these things, not just in a time of conflict, but as a pressure point that conflicts with our sovereign national interests,” he said.
“I’m glad we were able to sign this because in addition to being an important document and an important agreement, it sets a tangible example of the strategic partnership between the United States and India,” he said.
The PAX Silica Initiative was launched in December to build a safe, resilient and innovation-driven supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
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