Quad foreign ministers launch a Critical Minerals Initiative

What happened

• Quad foreign ministers met in Washington on 1 July 2025 and announced the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative to secure and diversify supply chains [MEA].
• The joint statement condemned the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025, which killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen [MEA].

Background

• The new agenda has four areas: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response [MEA].
• India is to host the next Quad Leaders’ Summit and Australia the next foreign ministers’ meeting [MEA].

Why it matters

• A minerals initiative moves the Quad from statements into supply chains, where China’s hold on processing is the real issue for India.