US, Pakistan Announce Key Pact On Critical Minerals
The agreement between the United States and Pakistan comes after India and Russia declared that they are exploring opportunities in rare earth and critical minerals extraction.
The US Embassy in Pakistan has announced that a memorandum of understanding signed between Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization and US Strategic Metals on critical minerals in Pakistan, as per a press release on Monday.
"Embassy Islamabad Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Zach Harkenrider accompanied a delegation led by U.S. Strategic Metals (USSM) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization (FWO) at Prime Minister House today," stated the release.
The USSM is a company based in Missouri which works for producing and recycling critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and lithium — these minerals have been labelled as essential in a variety of technologies related to advanced manufacturing and energy production by the US Department of Energy.
"The Trump administration has made the forging of such deals a key priority given the importance of critical mineral resources to American security and prosperity. We look forward to seeing future agreements between U.S. companies and their counterparts in the critical minerals and mining sector in Pakistan," Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker said.
She added that this pact further strengthens US-Pakistan bilateral relationship and will benefit both countries.
On July 31, the US sealed a trade deal with Pakistan wherein they agreed on a reduction of the so-called reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports. US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the two countries will “work together on developing their massive oil reserves,” adding that officials are now selecting a company to anchor the partnership.
The agreement between the United States and Pakistan comes after India and Russia declared that they are exploring opportunities in rare earth and critical minerals extraction, underground coal gasification, and creation of modern industrial infrastructure last month.
Last week, the Union Cabinet in India approved a Rs 1,500-crore incentive scheme for critical and rare earth minerals. The scheme is part of the National Critical Mineral Mission and is designed as a six-year package.
The scheme incentives are expected to help develop at least 270 kilo tonnes of annual recycling capacity, resulting in around 40 kilo tonne of annual critical mineral production, an official release.
