Quad Nations Agree to Cooperate on Building Critical Minerals Resilience

Udumbara Udumbara
Jul 3, 2025 - 10:08 Updated: Jul 2, 2025 - 16:10
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Quad Nations Agree to Cooperate on Building Critical Minerals Resilience
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Foreign ministers from the Quad alliance agreed on July 1 to cooperate on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains amid efforts to tackle challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The four-nation bloc—which includes the United States, Australia, Japan, and India—announced the launch of the “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative” following a meeting in Washington.

In a joint statement, the ministers said the initiative will expand their cooperation on supply chain resilience measures for critical minerals to enhance economic security in the face of growing challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

They raised concerns over the risks of relying on a single country for processing and refining critical minerals, saying it could lead to economic coercion, price manipulation, and supply chain disruptions.

China currently holds a dominant position in the global supply chains of critical minerals, supplying 60 percent to 90 percent of the world’s processed minerals.
“We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

“This includes the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology,” they added.

The Quad nations also seek to advance the recovery and reprocessing of critical minerals from electronic waste as part of the initiative, according to a fact sheet released by the U.S. State Department. The bloc will work with private sector partners to facilitate increased investments in this effort, it stated.
Speaking at a joint press conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that up to 40 companies from the Quad nations would convene in Washington on July 1 to discuss cooperation.

The meeting with companies would focus on diversifying the supply chain for critical minerals, including securing access to raw materials and the ability to process and refine the key minerals, Rubio added.

“It’s critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board,” he said. “And so having a diverse and reliable global supply chain of these is just one example of many that we can focus on and build upon and achieve some real progress on.”

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar described the meeting with his Quad counterparts as “very productive,” saying the talks centered on making the bloc “more focused and impactful on contemporary opportunities and challenges.”

“Today’s gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific and keep it free and open,” Jaishankar stated on the social media platform X.

The Quad foreign ministers also pledged to strengthen maritime and transnational security, economic security, and support humanitarian assistance and emergency response across the Indo-Pacific region, according to the joint statement.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated on X that the recent Quad ministerial meeting underscores “the importance of our partnership and the urgency of the challenges we face.”

“We agreed that it’s never been more crucial to take concrete actions that support peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Wong stated.

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