Ashwini Vaishnav participated in the important Mineral Ministerial meeting in Washington, reiterated commitment to strengthen India’s supply chain.

New York/Washington: Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav participated in an important ministerial meeting held in America and mentioned the country’s strong commitment towards strengthening and securing critical mineral supply chains.

Vaishnav participated in the Finance Ministerial meeting on Securing Critical Mineral Supply Chains organized by US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant on Monday. “Participated in the important Mineral Ministerial meeting organized by Finance Minister Scott Besant,” he informed on social media platform ‘X’. Strengthening critical mineral supply chains is essential to strengthen India’s manufacturing capabilities and rapidly growing electronics sector. ”

Vaishnav, who arrived in Washington DC to attend the meeting on Sunday, said that “securing critical mineral supply chains is extremely important” for India’s goal of a developed India. The Indian Embassy in Washington DC said in a statement that Vaishnav noted “India’s strong commitment to strengthening and securing the critical mineral supply chains necessary to realize the goal of economic prosperity, aggressive manufacturing and a developed India.”

Besant said she was pleased to note at the meeting the “strong and shared desire” to quickly address key vulnerabilities in critical minerals supply chains. “I hope that nations will adopt prudent risk-mitigation measures rather than isolation and recognize the need for decisive action to address existing deficiencies in critical minerals supply chains,” he said.

The US Treasury Department said in the statement that the US underlined the actions and investments already made, as well as the steps planned to build a strong, secure and diverse critical minerals supply chain. Given that supply chains are highly concentrated and vulnerable to disruption and manipulation, the Minister urged the attendees to increase the resilience of their supply chains and thanked the attendees for their willingness to learn from each other and work quickly towards decisive action and sustainable solutions.

The Indian Embassy in Washington DC said in a statement that it was “an honor” to welcome Vaishnav and hear his views and perspectives on India’s priorities in the technology and manufacturing sectors. The meeting of Finance Ministers was attended by Jim Chalmers, Treasurer of Australia, François Philippe Champagne, Finance Minister of Canada, Waldis Dabrowski, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, Roland Lescure, Minister of Economy, Finance and Energy of France, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Finance Minister of Germany Lars Klingbeil, etc.

Meanwhile, Michael Kratsios, aide to President Donald Trump and the 13th director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, met Vaishnav and Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra at the White House and “discussed the upcoming ‘AI Impact Summit’ to be held in India.” See you in Delhi next month.

India will host the ‘India-AI Impact Summit’ 2026 on 19-20 February. It will focus on the principles of ‘people, planet and progress’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced this summit at the ‘France AI Action Summit’. This will be the first global AI summit to be held in the ‘Global South’. The term ‘Global South’ is generally used to refer to economically less developed countries.