Washington, DC [US], February 4 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday hosted the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial at the Department of State in Washington, bringing together more than 50 countries to collaborate on securing critical mineral supply chains.

Rubio described the event as a 'historic gathering' aimed at building momentum for global collaboration to secure and diversify supply chains for minerals vital to national security and technological innovation.

The event aimed to reduce reliance on China, which dominates rare-earth mining and processing, and to promote economic security through multilateral cooperation.

Addressing the inaugural, Rubio said, 'We're planning to sign new critical minerals frameworks with several partners later today. I want to highlight again that this is a historic gathering and underscores the billions of dollars the United States government has already committed to this endeavour. And that's going to enable private sector investment towards creating reliable supply chains that are vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and also national security.'

Highlighting the scale of participation, Rubio added, '55 partners, 54 countries and the European Union are here. I think there are many more countries that are going to be interested in joining this initiative as it moves forward.'

The ministerial brought together delegations from more than 50 countries, including major partners like India, represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Earlier today, Rubio highlighted the importance of economic security through critical minerals and the need for allies to come together not only to rectify past mistakes but also to pool collective talent and innovation to ensure diversity and affordability in supply chains.

Rubio said, 'We are gathered here today as the first step to rectify the mistake, bring together our collective talent and innovation'.The US Secretary of State emphasised that mining came to be seen as less glamorous than designing computers.

'As we embraced what was new and glamorous, we outsourced what seemed old and unfashionable... and one day we realised 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 called it an international situation that needs multilateral solutions. Rubio highlighted the importance of critical minerals and said, 'They power our infrastructure, our industry and our national defence. Our goal is to have a global supply chain that is enduring and accessible to everyone, in every nation, at an affordable price. That is the top priority for this administration'.

He discussed the importance of critical minerals in US domestic policy, noting President Trump's view that economic security is national security. He recalled the Pax Silica partnership launched by the US last year.

He noted that the discovery of critical minerals in 1949 helped usher in the jet, space, and computer ages. Rubio recalled the meeting by Henry Kissinger fifty years ago, when the world was churning under a global crisis of energy supplies and market disruptions, and 'access to oil became a tool of political pressure'.

He said, 'Today we return 50 years later in the hopes of enhancing the bilateral critical minerals framework agreement to the same end on that front'.He highlighted the diverse roles which the countries gathered can play- from exercising purchasing power by being consumers to refining minerals if they do not have access to them 'to build a more resilient and diverse global market'.

Rubio said that while the initiative started with the United States, he called for it to be an international global initiative where like-minded countries see a diverse supply of critical minerals and secure and resilient supply chains across the world for the economies to prosper, 'without having these leveraged against us or any disruption that would undermine collective economic security'.

Earlier, while delivering the opening remarks, US Vice President JD Vance stressed the importance of critical minerals, and said, 'There is no realer thing than oil- and I would add to that-- there is no realer thing than critical minerals', Vance said.

In his remarks, the US VP noted that this initiative is where the alliance can help one another, called for more predictable pricing to support supply chains, and underscored the importance of confronting problems together.

The United States is hosting the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC, bringing together delegations from over 50 countries to advance collaboration on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains, according to a prior notice issued by the Office of the Spokesperson of the US State Department.

On Monday, prior to the Ministerial, US President Donald Trump announced Project Vault, a supply chain security initiative that will create the US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve -- an independently governed public-private partnership designed to store essential raw materials at facilities across the country.

Rubio is chairing the ministerial, and the gathering is being described as a historic effort to build collective momentum for cooperation to secure critical minerals essential to technological innovation, economic growth, and national security. (ANI)