Quad boosts Indo-Pacific future with major energy, mineral, and maritime pacts
New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI): In a major push to counter global resource monopolies and secure future technology supply chains, India, Australia, Japan, and the United States on Tuesday unveiled a Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework.
Under this ambitious mechanism, the four democratic nations intend to mobilise up to USD 20 billion in government and private-sector support for critical minerals supply chains spanning mining, processing, and recycling.
The expansive framework, announced in New Delhi, aims to support the development of secure supply chains for critical minerals used in advanced technologies and industrial manufacturing amid growing global competition over strategic resources.
To streamline execution, the alliance plans to target ventures tied directly to the bloc's strategic orbit. Under the initiative, the Quad partners plan to identify projects with a "Quad nexus", including projects located in Quad countries, operated by companies headquartered in Quad countries, or supplying Quad markets.
To ensure these capital-intensive ventures get off the ground, the grouping also proposed supporting strategic critical minerals projects through export credit agencies, development finance institutions, guarantees, loans, equity participation, insurance, subsidies, and mobilisation of private capital.
Addressing long-standing industrial bottlenecks, the framework additionally envisages cooperation on permitting and regulatory processes, geological mapping and resource assessment, and coordinated measures to address "non-market policies and unfair trade practices" in critical minerals markets.
Emphasising sustainability and resource efficiency, the Quad countries also proposed collaboration in the recovery and recycling of critical minerals from e-waste and scrap materials, including investments in recycling technologies, collection networks, and streamlining export-import procedures for waste and scrap.
Alongside the multilateral rollout, New Delhi and Washington significantly tightened their bilateral resource partnership. Separately, India and the United States signed a framework agreement on "Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths".
The strategic pact was signed in New Delhi by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to officials, the India-US framework covers cooperation across mining, processing, recycling, and investments related to critical minerals and rare earths, while also aiming to strengthen resilient and diversified supply chains.
This bilateral agreement builds upon existing strategic synergy between the two nations, as India had earlier joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative and is also partnering with the US under the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) initiative.
The high-level deliberations in the national capital also tackled broader geopolitical vulnerabilities hanging over global energy corridors. In another development, the Quad countries issued a joint statement on Indo-Pacific energy security, highlighting concerns over disruptions in global oil, gas, and petrochemical markets and their impact on the region.
To mitigate these systemic threats, the four countries announced plans to convene a Quad Fuel Security Forum to coordinate cooperation on strategic petroleum systems, emergency response exercises, and regional energy resilience, while also stressing uninterrupted trade flows through critical maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz. (ANI)
