External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will travel to Washington DC next week for a high-level meeting focused on critical minerals. The visit, planned for early February, will see Dr Jaishankar participate in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 4 February at the State Department.
The ministerial gathering is designed to bring together partners from around the world to strengthen cooperation on securing reliable and resilient supply chains for critical minerals. These essential materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements are vital to technologies ranging from electric vehicles to defence systems and renewable energy infrastructure.
The meeting is being positioned as a crucial step toward enhancing international collaboration to support economic and national security, technological leadership, and a resilient energy future. It unfolds amid continuing efforts to reduce global dependence on dominant suppliers, particularly China, which controls a significant portion of the processing and refining of these resources.
Dr Jaishankar’s trip also aligns with India’s expected formal entry into Pax Silica, a US-led geopolitical and economic initiative aimed at building a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain. The alliance covers critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and related logistics, and seeks to promote stability and long-term prosperity among “trusted” partners while reducing coercive dependencies in strategic technologies.
Announced in late 2025, Pax Silica initially included nations such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, Israel, and the UAE. India received an invitation in January 2026 from US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, shortly after his arrival in New Delhi. The development is in line with New Delhi’s push for self-reliance in electronics manufacturing and clean energy transitions.
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