WASHINGTON– A leading U.S. business advocacy group on Thursday welcomed India’s participation in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, calling it an important step toward strengthening supply chains essential to technology development, economic growth, and national security.
The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum said India’s involvement in the ministerial, led by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, marked a historic engagement hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“This historic engagement will create momentum for collaboration to secure the critical mineral supply chains vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and national security,” the forum said in a statement.
The group noted that India is emerging as a pivotal player in the global critical minerals landscape, pointing to the country’s large reserves of key resources, including rare earth elements, and a rapidly expanding pipeline for exploration and mineral auctions.
According to the forum, leveraging India’s geological resources is essential to unlocking significant economic opportunities while reducing global overdependence on a limited number of concentrated supply sources. Such efforts, it said, would support advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy initiatives, and high-tech job creation, while reinforcing supply chains critical to long-term economic resilience.
The forum said it supports a critical minerals framework agreement that would provide a template for ensuring the United States and India have reliable access to key minerals through clear standards for both government and private investment. These standards should span mining, processing, and recycling, and include pricing mechanisms that protect producers from unfair trade practices by competitors.
It also voiced strong support for deeper government–industry collaboration, including the development of transparent and predictable policy frameworks and the promotion of joint ventures and technology partnerships across the entire mine-to-market value chain.
“These steps are vital to translating India’s resource potential into real projects and bankable, long-term contracts that underpin both countries’ energy security and industrial competitiveness,” the statement said.
The forum pointed to President Donald Trump’s “Project Vault” as one initiative that could strengthen cooperation on critical minerals tied to economic and national security, technological leadership, and a resilient energy future.
It added that closer U.S.-India collaboration on critical minerals will be key to ensuring long-term industrial competitiveness and safeguarding supply chains that support emerging technologies. (Source: IANS)
