Quad countries announce initiative to strengthen global supply chains

(MENAFN) The foreign ministers of the Quad countries—comprising the United States, Australia, India, and Japan—announced on Tuesday the launch of a new initiative aimed at strengthening and diversifying the global supply chains for critical minerals.

Unveiled following a high-level meeting in Washington hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative is designed to boost economic stability and build collective resilience by reducing vulnerabilities in critical mineral sourcing, the U.S. State Department said in a summary of the discussions.

Rubio met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya during the latest Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The ministers reaffirmed their joint commitment to maintaining a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and pledged to continue collaborating on efforts to safeguard regional peace, security, and prosperity.

In their joint statement, the ministers voiced serious concerns over rising tensions in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

"We express our serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the dangerous maneuvers by military aircraft and coast guard and maritime militia vessels, especially the unsafe use of water cannons and ramming or blocking actions in the South China Sea," they said in the statement.

They also denounced North Korea’s ongoing use of ballistic missile technology and its persistent efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

In addition, the ministers condemned the April 22 attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

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