Minister Piyush Goyal for collaboration in smooth supply of critical minerals, semicon, pharma, green energy

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for enhancing collaborations among trusted partner countries for smooth supply of critical minerals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and green energy, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The minister proposed this collaboration during the G7 Trade Ministers' meeting at Reggio Calabria, Italy.

He also highlighted the importance of analyzing global supply chains' robustness in times of crisis like pandemic, Ukraine-Russia conflict, and Red Sea crisis.

Goyal said that efforts are on in various countries to build resilient supply chains under platforms like the G20 Generic Framework for Mapping GVCs (global value chains), the 14 Member IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) association, Trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), and India-EU TTC (trade and technology council).

"The minister proposed collaboration among trusted partners to reinforce global supply chains in critical areas such as critical minerals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and green energy; and advocated public-private partnerships, investments in critical infrastructure, innovation, and consistent regulatory frameworks across G7 countries and partner nations," the commerce ministry said.

The Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.

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.

He said that during global uncertainties there is a need for greater alignment of investment, trade, environment, and energy policies to fortify global supply chains.