New Delhi: India and the US are negotiating a pact to enhance collaboration in essential critical minerals, and the issue will figure during the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Washington this week. At the invitation of the US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Goyal will undertake a visit from September 30-October 3. The commerce ministry said, in a statement on Sunday, that Goyal and Raimondo will also discuss steps to expand and diversify critical minerals supply chains between India and the US. “The two sides are negotiating a MoU which intends to enhance bilateral collaboration to increase and diversify essential critical mineral supply chains and leverage their complementary strengths,” it said. Critical minerals, such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths, play a crucial role in the production of clean energy technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars. They are particularly in demand for the production of batteries for electric cars. Goyal will also meet the US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai in Washington DC to discuss the ongoing collaboration under the Trade Policy Forum and ways to further add to bilateral trade between the two countries. The minister will co-chair with Raimondo the India-USA CEO Forum on October 2 and the 6th India-USA Commercial Dialogue on October 3 to be held in Washington DC. During the deliberations, both sides will discuss ways to generate sustainable economic growth, improve the business and investment climate and deepen ties between the Indian and the American business communities. The minister will also interact with leading American and Indian CEOs and industry leaders to highlight the vast opportunities for investment in India. His interactions with business and industry leaders in a roundtable organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum will stress upon ways to further leverage the complementary strengths and synergies between the economies of India and the US. The visit, the statement said, will encourage business-to-business engagement and promote strategic partnerships across sectors of priority to both sides, including critical minerals, building supply chain resilience, and facilitating climate and clean technology cooperation. The US is the largest trading partner of India. The bilateral trade was USD 120 billion in 2023-24. India is also one of the major recipients of foreign direct investment from the US. The country received USD 67 billion between April 2000 and June 2024.
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