India backs new US-led critical minerals forum FORGE: Jaishankar

India Backs US-Led FORGE Initiative

India has extended its support to the Forum on Resource, Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE), a newly launched initiative unveiled at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, which succeeds the US-led Mineral Security Partnership, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told ANI on the sidelines of the ministerial in Washington DC.

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Speaking to ANI on Wednesday (local time) in Washington, DC, the EAM, who is on a three-day visit to the US capital, said the primary purpose of his trip was to attend the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which included participation from over 50 countries. He described the discussions at the ministerial as productive and outcome-oriented, highlighting the growing importance of critical minerals in global supply chains. "The main reason I came was that there was a Critical Minerals Ministerial, which was convened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. There were a number of countries, 50-odd countries, that meeting took place today. That was the principal reason," the EAM said. "It was a very good discussion. Critical minerals are a very important subject. The US has been partnering up for some years. Today, they launched a new initiative called FORGE, which we have supported. It's a kind of successor to the Mineral Security Partnership. Overall, to me, it was a good meeting, very productive, very outcome-oriented, and very businesslike, and that was the core reason I came," he added.

De-risking Supply Chains a Priority

Jaishankar attended the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC on Wednesday (local time), during which the EAM called for structured international cooperation to "de-risk" critical mineral supply chains, noting that "excessive concentration" poses a major global risk. 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 event brought together delegations from over 50 countries, and the European Union is being viewed as a landmark moment in global supply chain diplomacy, with a 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.

According to EAM, the FORGE initiative is a successor to the US-led Mineral Security Partnership, which, according to the US State Department, aimed to accelerate the development of diverse critical mineral supply chains.

Jaishankar Holds Bilateral Talks in Washington

During his visit, Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Rubio and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and noted that with several foreign ministers present in Washington, there were multiple informal interactions and pull-aside discussions to review the state of bilateral ties. "Yesterday I did my bilaterals with Secretary Rubio and also had a meeting with [US] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. And today, because a number of other foreign ministers are here, there were a whole lot of pull-asides and sorts of catch-ups on where the relationship is. It's been a very useful two days," the EAM said.

Review of India-US Strategic Engagement

Elaborating on his meeting with Secretary Rubio on Tuesday, Jaishankar said the two sides conducted a detailed review of bilateral cooperation and discussed the diplomatic calendar for the year ahead. He stated that the discussions covered 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. "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," the EAM said.

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". He stated that discussions were held on facets of the India-US "Strategic Partnership", including critical minerals, energy, trade and nuclear. "Delighted to meet US Secretary Rubio this afternoon. A wide-ranging conversation covered our bilateral cooperation agenda, regional and global issues. Facets of India-US Strategic Partnership discussed included trade, energy, nuclear, defence, critical minerals, and technology. Agreed on early meetings of various mechanisms to advance our shared interests," EAM said in his post.

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. (ANI)