Quad partners commit to mobilise up to USD 20 billion to strengthen critical minerals supply chains

New Delhi [India], May 26 : India, Australia, Japan and the United States on Tuesday unveiled the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework, pledging to mobilise up to USD 20 billion in government and private sector support to strengthen secure and resilient critical minerals supply chains across the Indo-Pacific region.
The announcement was made shortly after the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting which saw the partner countries arriving at the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework to support the development of secure critical minerals supply chains, which are essential for advanced technologies, economic growth, and the resilience of our industrial bases.
As per an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, through the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, the partners aim to work together to use economic policy tools and coordinated investment to accelerate the development of diversified and fair critical mineral markets and support the supply of critical minerals that are crucial to our region's economic growth and security.
The framework sets out key areas for cooperation among the Quad partners on critical minerals supply chains giving due regard for each partner's domestic policies and priorities.
This will cover three ambits namely investments and project development; regulatory alignment and the recycle and recovery of critical minerals
Quad partners intend to mobilize up to $20 billion in government and private sector support through new and existing efforts to strengthen critical minerals supply chains, including in mining, processing, and recycling, through actions such as identifying projects with a Quad nexus that address critical mineral supply chain gaps; supporting strategic critical minerals projects and exploring new mechanisms to help mobilize private capital and strengthen critical minerals supply chains in Quad partner countries and regionally.
The statement further noted that the Quad partners will aim to improve the overall environment for critical minerals development, in accordance with their respective domestic laws through actions such sharing information on good practices and technical approaches to permitting, licensing, and regulatory processes, including measures to accelerate or streamline permitting timelines and processes and cooperating on technology development and capacity building related to geological mapping and resource assessment.
They will also consider the feasibility of coordinated measures to address non-market policies and unfair trade practices, such as high standards marketplaces, price mechanisms.
The partners also aim to work together to improve the recovery and use of critical minerals from e-waste and other scrap materials to enhance the supply chain and promote recycling of contained critical minerals within Quad partner and like-minded countries by facilitating investment in critical minerals recycling technologies, processes, and collection networks within Quad partner countries in collaboration with the private sector and collaborating to enhance recovery of critical minerals.
The statement noted that the members would also promote innovation in critical minerals recovery from, and recycling of, e-waste and scrap materials among Quad partner and explore cooperation to streamline export and import procedures for relevant waste and scrap among Quad partners, in line with the domestic laws and regulations, and international obligations, as appropriate, of each partner.