At the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC, USA, India lent its support to a new forum launched under the US’ aegis to “de-risk” critical minerals supply chains and decentralise concentration away from China by accelerating the development of diverse critical mineral supply chains.
India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, who spoke about the meeting later, said New Delhi supports the Forum on Resource, Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE), which succeeds the US-led Mineral Security Partnership.
The event brought together delegations from over 50 countries and the European Union, in what is being viewed as a landmark moment in global supply chain diplomacy. The primary goal of the ministerial is to diversify supply chains for rare earth elements and critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, to reduce global overreliance on China, which currently dominates processing and mining.
Describing the discussions as productive and outcome-oriented, Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to the US, said critical minerals in global supply chains are gaining worldwide importance.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “Spoke at the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC today. Underlined challenges of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply chains through structured international cooperation. Highlighted India’s efforts towards greater resilience through initiatives including National Critical Minerals Mission, Rare Earth Corridors and responsible commerce. Conveyed India’s support to the FORGE initiative on critical minerals.”
The EAM also held bilateral meetings with US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, with whom he discussed key global and regional issues including developments in the Indo-Pacific, West Asia, Gaza, and the Ukraine conflict, reflecting the broad scope of India-US strategic engagement.
Elaborating on his meeting with Rubio on Tuesday, Jaishankar said the two sides conducted a detailed review of bilateral cooperation and discussed the diplomatic calendar for the year ahead.
“We did a fairly detailed review of our bilateral cooperation. It’s natural when foreign ministers meet that you discuss the diplomatic agenda. Also, the calendar – what do we expect each one of us to do this year together, so a lot of our discussion was devoted to that, the bilateral side. But again, foreign ministers meet, and we talk about our business: the Indo-Pacific, what is happening in West Asia, the Middle East, Gaza, and the Ukraine conflict. There was a kind of global review of what was happening in the Western Hemisphere.
In a sense, we discussed the world, we discussed our relationship, and it was a very open sort of forthcoming conversation,” he said.
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On Tuesday, following his meeting with Rubio, Jaishankar, in a post on X, said that he was “delighted” to meet with the US State Secretary, stating that both sides held conversations that covered the India-US “bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues”.
Meanwhile, according to a readout from the US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, the EAM and the State Secretary committed to expanding “bilateral and multilateral cooperation” through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and welcomed the recently announced India-US trade deal, in which Washington reduced the tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent.
“Secretary Rubio and Minister Jaishankar concluded their meeting by expressing their commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad. They acknowledged that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing our shared interests,” the readout stated.
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