Washington, DC [US], February 4 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday underscored the importance of economic security through critical minerals and called on allied nations to work together to correct past mistakes by pooling collective talent and innovation to ensure diversity, resilience, and affordability in global supply chains.
Rubio made the remarks during the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by the United States. He said the gathering marked an important first step toward strengthening cooperation among like-minded nations. “We are gathered here today as the first step to rectify the mistake and bring together our collective talent and innovation,” he said.
Highlighting how mining was long viewed as unglamorous compared to advances in technology, Rubio said countries had outsourced essential industries in favor of more fashionable sectors. “As we embraced what was new and glamorous, we outsourced what seemed old and unfashionable, and one day we realized we had outsourced our economic security and our very future. We were at the mercy of whoever controlled the supply chains for these minerals,” he said.
Rubio described the challenge as an international issue requiring multilateral solutions. Emphasizing the strategic importance of critical minerals, he said they power infrastructure, industry, and national defense. “Our goal is to have a global supply chain that is enduring and available to everyone, every nation, at an affordable price. That is the top priority for this administration,” he said.
He also highlighted the central role of critical minerals in US domestic policy, recalling President Donald Trump’s position that economic security is national security. Rubio referenced the Pax Silica partnership launched by the US last year and noted how the discovery of critical minerals in 1949 helped usher in the jet age, space age, and computer age.
Drawing historical parallels, Rubio recalled a meeting convened by Henry Kissinger nearly five decades ago during a global energy crisis marked by supply disruptions and geopolitical pressure. “Access to oil became a tool of political pressure,” he said, adding that nations are now returning to the issue with the aim of strengthening critical minerals framework agreements.
Rubio highlighted the diverse roles participating countries can play, from leveraging purchasing power as consumers to refining minerals even if they do not have domestic access, in order to build a more resilient and diversified global market.
While noting that the initiative began with the United States, Rubio called for it to evolve into a truly global effort. He said like-minded countries must work toward securing diverse and resilient supply chains that allow economies to prosper without the risk of disruption or strategic leverage undermining collective economic security.
Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance, in his opening remarks, stressed the importance of critical minerals, saying, “There is no realer thing than oil, and I would add to that, there is no realer thing than critical minerals.” Vance emphasized that the initiative provides an opportunity for allies to support one another, called for greater price predictability to stabilize supply chains, and urged collective action to confront shared challenges.
The United States is hosting the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, bringing together delegations from more than 50 countries to advance collaboration on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains, according to an earlier notice from the Office of the Spokesperson of the US State Department.
Ahead of the Ministerial, President Trump on Monday announced Project Vault, a supply chain security initiative that will establish a US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. The reserve will operate as an independently governed public-private partnership designed to store essential raw materials at facilities across the country.
Rubio is chairing the Ministerial, which is being described as a historic effort to build collective momentum for cooperation on securing critical minerals vital to technological innovation, economic growth, and national security. (ANI)
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