US secretary of state meets with India's external affairs minister ahead of critical minerals summit
Marco Rubio and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar 'discussed formalizing bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining and processing,' says State Department
WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss formalizing bilateral cooperation on critical minerals exploration, mining and processing, the State Department said.
The meeting came ahead of the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, which Rubio will host at the State Department on Wednesday, where delegations from more than 50 countries are expected to advance efforts to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains.
During the meeting, Rubio and Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal reached between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasizing the importance of "working together to unlock new economic opportunities and advance our shared energy security goals," said the State Department.
The two officials also expressed their commitment to expanding both bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad grouping of countries comprising the US, Japan, Australia and India and "acknowledged that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region remains vital to advancing our shared interests," it added.
Rubio also met separately with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun ahead of the critical minerals summit, discussing ways to advance the alliance between the two countries, the State Department said.
During the meeting, Rubio expressed gratitude for South Korea’s leadership role in "building secure, resilient and diversified critical minerals supply chains," said the statement.
The two discussed advancing the US-South Korea alliance through a forward-looking agenda, drawing on the spirit of recent summits between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held in Washington and Gyeongju, it added.
"The two leaders agreed to continue to work closely on civil nuclear power, nuclear-powered submarines, shipbuilding and increasing ROK investments to rebuild critical US industries," the statement said.
Rubio and Cho also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, it added.
