New Delhi: India and the United States on May 26, Tuesday signed a bilateral framework aimed at securing the supply, mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earth elements. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar announced the landmark agreement, highlighting its strategic importance in a highly contested global landscape. The deal was sealed following the bilateral discussions and the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
“We are today signing a bilateral India-US framework on securing supplies of mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earths”, EAM Jaishankar said. Emphasising that the issue was also a key point of discussion during the Quad meeting, the Minister noted that securing these resources is “very timely and critical”, regardless of whether it is pursued bilaterally, through the Quad format or within a larger gathering of like-minded nations.
#WATCH | Delhi | External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sign India-US bilateral framework on securing supply of mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earths
(video source: DD) pic.twitter.com/w71vP4NPTS
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2026
The framework is designed to deepen comprehensive cooperation across the entire critical minerals and rare earth supply chain. According to EAM Jaishankar, the scope of the partnership will encompass mining, processing, recycling and related investments.
“It will strengthen resilient and diversified supply chains, help us to collaborate on financing and with the effective management of critical minerals and rare earths”, the External Affairs Minister further added. Terming the agreement a testament to the strengthening of Washington-New Delhi partnership, EAM Jaishankar concluded, “It is one more sign of how close our cooperation is in a world where there are so many challenges but also so many opportunities”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted the importance of India for the United States and said that the signing of the agreement is a tangible example of it. “I have spoken often during my time here over the last few days about the strategic alliance between the United States and India and how important that is for our national interest in the United States. And today is a tangible example of it. We are two countries that have strategic interests in ensuring reliable long-term access to critical minerals and supply chains that are important for our innovation economy”, said Marco Rubio.
“The groundwork was laid for this on the 4th of February when you joined us at the Critical Minerals Forum that we hosted in Washington, D.C. It gained momentum later that month when India signed on to Paxilla and now today, because we both have a strategic and shared interest in the fact that vibrant innovation economies such as ours cannot afford to leave the foundational materials of these industries vulnerable to single source monopolies that could deny us these things, not just in a time”, Marco Rubio further added.
Critical minerals and rare earth elements are crucial components for manufacturing high-tech electronics, clean energy technologies, semiconductors, defense systems, electric vehicles and other emerging technology components. The move to diversify these supply chains comes amid global efforts to overcome supply chain disruptions, reduce monopoly and reliance on single-source suppliers, particularly China, which currently dominates the global critical mineral and rare earth market.
(With Inputs from ANI)
