Increasing cooperation in critical minerals will top Prime Minister Modi's agenda during his discussions with leaders of Ghana, Argentinia, Brazil and Namibia.
In Washingtonm DC on Wednesday, foreign ministers of the four-member Quad grouping launched the Quad critical minerals initiative to ensure their availability.
This comes amid concerns over China's coercive tactics, including price manipulation in the sector.
The statement issued after the meeting, however, did not mention China.
But the foreign ministers of India, Japan and Australia and the US secretary of state said they were 'deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals.'
A few hours earlier, on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his over a week-long foreign visit to five countries.
Officials stated that increasing cooperation in critical minerals, including rare earth elements, will top his agenda during his discussions with respective leaders of at least four of these countries.
Barring Trinidad and Tobago, four of the PM's ports of call, Ghana, Namibia, Argentina and Brazil have mineral and energy resources.
It is the first time in several decades that an Indian PM is paying bilateral visits to some of these countries.
About his visit to Argentina, the PM said in his departure statement that this will be the first bilateral visit to that country by an Indian PM in 57 years.
He said his discussions with Argentinian President Javier Milei will focus on advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in critical minerals, and also agriculture, trade, tourism, technology and energy.
Argentina holds the world's second largest shale gas reserves and the fourth largest shale oil reserves along with substantial conventional oil and gas deposits.
These make it a potentially important energy partner for India in the future, Secretary (East) in the ministry of external affairs P Kumaran had said at a press briefing on Monday.
On the issue of critical minerals, the Quad foreign ministers underscored the importance of diversified and reliable global supply chains.
'Reliance on any one country for processing and refining critical minerals and derivative goods production exposes our industries to economic coercion, price manipulation, and supply chain disruptions, which further harms our economic and national security,' the ministers said.
The foreign ministers announced new initiatives in four areas, including maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.
The joint statement issued after the meeting said that the Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.
It condemned 'in the strongest terms' the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The statement did not mention Pakistan or Lashkar-e-Taiba-affiliated terror group that India has said carried out the terror attack.
The foreign ministers said the Quad critical minerals initiative is being launched to strengthen economic security and collective resilience.
This is by collaborating to secure and diversify critical minerals supply chains.
They said they look forward to coordinating with private sector partners to facilitate increased investments in this sector.
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya.
On Monday, at a press briefing, the MEA said the PM's visit to Ghana, the first by an Indian PM in 30 years, will focus on increasing cooperation in critical minerals, among other sectors.
His visit to Namibia, the first by an Indian PM in 27 years, will see cooperation in minerals as a key aspect.
India's investments in Namibia are about $800 million, mostly in mineral resources like zinc and diamond processing, they said.
"Namibia is a very resource-rich country. It has natural resources of uranium, copper, cobalt, and rare earths in large numbers. It also has lithium, graphite and tantalum, and all of these are of interest to us," Secretary Economic Relations in the MEA Dammu Ravi said.
Kumaran said the PM's bilateral visit to Brazil on July 8 will also have mining and critical minerals on the agenda. Modi will visit Argentina on July 4 and 5.
Apart from shale gas, Argentina's rich reserves are critical minerals such as lithium, copper and other rare earth elements.
India's public sector undertaking, Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), has already won a few concessions in Argentina since 2024.
KABIL and the National Mineral Development Corporation are actively looking at opportunities in Africa.
"In this context, the PM's visit to both Ghana and Namibia become very important," Ravi said.
Kumaran said Argentina is a part of the Lithium Triangle, comprising Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia.
India is talking to all three of them and also with Peru to try and acquire mining concessions that hold lithium, molybdenum, and other critical minerals.
Between KABIL and Coal India Limited, Kumaran said, the PSUs have picked four concessions in the Catamarca province of Argentina.
Indian companies are working with an Argentinian provincial PSU called CAMYEN, partnering to develop these sites and pick up lithium from there.
"It will be refined, and then brought to India for our purposes," Kumaran said.
In addition, there is also private sector interest in rare earth minerals in Argentina.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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