Jaishankar invited to US for key minerals meet in Feb

EXternal affairs government minister S. Jaishankar has been invited to booker t. Washington for a two-day see on feb 4-5 for a francis scott key critical minerals ministerial meeting, people familiar with the matter said.A decision is yet to be taken on Jaishankar’s visit , these people said, adding that if it pans out, he could possibly meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.In a call on January 13, Jaishankar and Rubio had discussed bilateral trade negotiations and the possibility for expanded US-India civil nuclear cooperation. After their call, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced that the two had also spoken about a possible meeting in February.Rubio and Jaishankar last met in September 2025 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York City. Their meeting helped stabilise the India-US relationship after weeks of public diplomatic tensions during which the Trump administration placed a 50% tariff on India, including a 25% tariff penalty for purchasing Russian energy. While the partnership had made progress since --including the announcement of a 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership in October-- the finalisation of a bilateral trade deal has remained elusive.According to people aware of the deliberations, the US-led critical minerals ministerial meeting could streamline a number of overlapping multinational initiatives to secure supply chains. For example, the newly announced Pax Silica initiative and the Biden-era Minerals Security Partnership share largely similar economic security objectives. However, the overlap has generated some bureaucratic difficulties for US-led international cooperation with partners like India. New Delhi is a member of the Minerals Security Partnership and was invited to join Pax Silica this month.“On February 4, Secretary Rubio will welcome partners from across the globe to the State Department for the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial. Strengthening critical mineral supply chains with our international partners is vital to America’s economic and national security, technological leadership, and a resilient energy future,” the State Department said in a post on X.The US State Department said it had no details to share on Jaishankar’s planned visit or on a possible meeting with Secretary Rubio, in response to a query from HT. India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to a mailed press query.Jaishankar’s planned visit will also come just weeks after Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw joined finance ministers from 10 countries at a multinational meeting in Washington to discuss strengthening critical minerals supply chains amid concerns over China’s dominance in the sector. China currently leads production of 30 minerals deemed critical by the US Geological Survey and accounts for roughly 70% of rare earths mining and over 90% of processing globally.Speaking after the summit, Vaishnaw said strengthening critical mineral supply chains would aid India’s manufacturing capabilities and electronics sector.