India and the US on Tuesday signed a bilateral framework covering the supply, mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earth elements. The agreement was announced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after bilateral discussions and the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, where the issue also figured prominently.“We are today signing a bilateral India-US framework to ensure supply of critical minerals and rare earth mining and processing,” Jaishankar said.He said securing critical minerals has become an important area of cooperation, be it through bilateral partnerships, Quad or broader cooperation between like-minded countries.The framework seeks to expand cooperation across various sectors of the supply chain, including mining, processing, recycling and investments involving critical minerals and rare earths.“This will strengthen resilient and diverse supply chains, helping us cooperate in financing and effective management of critical minerals and rare earths,” Jaishankar said.He said the agreement reflects the growing level of cooperation between India and the United States at a time when the countries are tackling multiple global challenges and opportunities.Critical minerals and rare earth elements are widely used in sectors such as high-tech electronics, clean energy technologies, defense systems and electric vehicles. The latest framework comes amid broader efforts to create flexible and diverse supply chains, reducing reliance on single-source suppliers, particularly China, which currently dominates the global processing market.
‘strategic alliance’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the signing highlighted the strategic importance of relations between Washington and New Delhi.“I have spoken often during my time here over the past few days about the strategic alliance between the United States and India and how important it is to our national interest in the United States. And today is a concrete example of that,” Rubio said.He said both countries share a common interest in creating reliable and long-term access to critical minerals and supply chains that support innovation-driven economies.Rubio also referred to earlier talks between the two sides on the issue and said the process started at the Critical Minerals Forum held in Washington on February 4 and later gained momentum when India signed Paxilla.“The groundwork for this was laid on February 4 when you joined us at the Critical Minerals Forum held in Washington, DC. It gained momentum later that month when India signed the PAXILA… and now today, because we both have a strategic and shared interest in the fact that vibrant innovation economies like ours cannot leave the fundamentals of these industries vulnerable to single source monopolies that could deprive us of these things, not only in times of conflict, but in a time contrary to our sovereign national Interest as a leverage point,” he said.“So it’s a pleasure to be here today and I’m glad that we were able to sign this because in addition to being an important document and an important agreement, it sets a solid example of the strategic partnership between the United States and India,” Rubio said.
quad and vital minerals
The Quad nations will also launch a new framework aimed at strengthening critical minerals supply chains, broadening cooperation among member countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The initiative aims to align economic policies and coordinate investments to reduce vulnerabilities in sectors dependent on critical minerals.Rubio announced the framework during a joint press statement, “We will announce the Quad Critical Minerals Framework, which will guide each of us to leverage economic policy tools and coordinate investments to strengthen critical minerals supply chains, including mining and processing and recycling of critical minerals.” Along with the minerals initiative, the Quad countries also unveiled measures focused on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. These include the launch of the Indo-Pacific Marine Surveillance Corporation initiative and the expansion of the existing marine tracking program.