Washington DC [US], January 13 : Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attended a ministerial-level meeting organised by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which was focused on strengthening resilience in the global supply chain of critical minerals.
The meeting brought together participants from various countries to discuss ways to ensure the long-term availability and sustainability of essential minerals.
Speaking toafter the meeting, Vaishnaw said the discussions were particularly important at a time when manufacturing sectors, especially electronics manufacturing, are growing rapidly in India and across the world.
"US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent organised a ministerial meeting focused on resilience in the supply chain of critical minerals. As we all know, and especially in India, when the manufacturing sector is growing rapidly, especially electronics manufacturing, it's very important for all the countries, including India, to have a resilient supply chain of critical minerals. In this meeting, participants from various countries discuss their experience, the steps that they are taking in making the supply chain resilient, especially technology for refining and processing the mineral ores so that high-quality critical minerals, especially the rare earth, permanent magnets can be secured in the long term in a sustainable manner," the Minister said
"There were discussions around funding new projects. There were discussions around technology sharing between different countries. There were very important discussions about recycling because that's a good way of harnessing the minerals out of the waste products. There were discussions and agreements around sharing research work among different countries. It was a very positive meeting in which the thought process was to improve the quality and availability of critical minerals," he added.
The Minister further said that strengthening critical mineral supply chains was vital to enhancing the resilience of India's manufacturing capabilities and rapidly growing electronics sector.
Earlier, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was optimistic that the particpating nations would understand the need for decisive action in the critical mineral sphere.
"At today's Finance Ministerial hosted by the US Treasury, I was pleased to hear a strong, shared desire to quickly address key vulnerabilities in critical minerals supply chains. I am optimistic that nations will pursue prudent derisking over decoupling and understand well the need for decisive action," he posted on X.
The meeting also saw discussions and agreements around sharing research work among different countries. According to Vaishnaw, this collaborative approach will help improve both the quality and availability of critical minerals globally.
On Monday, US Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor stated that India will be invited to join the US-led PaxSilica group of nations as a full member next month. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Gor said the United States has launched a new strategic initiative aimed at strengthening the global silicon and semiconductor supply chain.
Announcing India's proposed inclusion, he said, "I am pleased to announce that India will be invited to join PaxSilica as a full member next month.", Gor said.
Pax Silica is a United States-led strategic economic alliance officially launched in December 2025. It is expected to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI development, and logistics.
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