Government representatives agree to work together more closely in strategic sectors such as rare earths and renewable energies.
Semiconductors, critical minerals, artificial intelligence: India and the United Kingdom want to strengthen their cooperation in certain technologies they consider crucial for national security and economic development. To this end, the two countries have established the new UK-India Technology Security Initiative, according to the Indian government. This came after the new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s first state visit to India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government representatives.
Specifically, the two countries want – among other things – to boost their existing partnerships in offshore wind turbines and green hydrogen, in order to tackle climate change. In the area of critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths, which are required for numerous green technologies, the establishment of a joint recycling centre in India is being considered. The two national geological services also want to work more closely together to improve exploration methods for rare earths. In addition, bilateral research and development of high-tech materials such as graphene is to be intensified
As an emerging economic power and now the world’s most populous country, India has recently been endeavouring to improve its raw material supply and reduce its dependence on imports. More domestic mining and overseas investment are central pillars of this strategy. Raw materials and technology partnerships are also being expanded, for example the subcontinent signed a cooperation agreement with the USA in June similar to that with the United Kingdom. Just this week, the announcement that import duties on 25 critical raw materials would be lifted also made headlines (we reported).
For its part, the United Kingdom published its first raw materials security strategy two years ago and updated it just a few months later. In addition to the exploration of domestic raw material deposits and investment in foreign mineral projects, recycling in particular plays an important role in supply chain security.
Photo: iStock/Oleksii Liskonih