The Central Asian country holds substantial reserves of critical minerals and could become a potential major supplier.
The United States and Uzbekistan will expand their collaboration on critical minerals. On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick and Uzbek First Deputy Minister of Geology Omonullo Nasritdinxodjaev signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tashkent. Under the MoU, the two nations will intensify cooperation in the critical minerals sector to catalyze investment into Uzbekistan’s industry, setting it up to become a major supplier.
In September of last year, President Biden met with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the C5+1 Presidential Summit. Biden then proposed launching a Critical Minerals Dialogue to develop Central Asia’s mineral wealth. The now-signed MoU advances these efforts, the U.S. embassy in Uzbekistan said.
Potential Major Supplier – Some Challenges Remain
Following the signing ceremony, Ambassador Henick told journalists that the green economy is the fastest-growing industry but requires “enormous” amounts of critical minerals. He emphasized Uzbekistan’s vast natural resources and its role as a potential major supplier. The MoU would help build robust supply chains and help boost government-to-government as well as industry-to-industry relations. However, Hinick acknowledged that the agreement is only part of a long effort, and some challenges remain, such as long exploration stages and environmental questions.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (PDF), Uzbekistan is the world’s fourth-largest producer of rhenium, a transition metal used to make so-called superalloys. In addition, the country is among the leading gold, cadmium, molybdenum, and uranium producers. The Central Asian country also holds vast reserves of other critical minerals, such as copper, silver, tungsten, and zinc. In addition, it seeks to ramp up the production of rare earth elements needed for permanent magnets, for example.
Hence, the United States is not alone in eyeing Central Asia for critical minerals. Just this week, Germany signed a similar agreement with the Uzbek Government (we reported).
Photo: Oleksii Liskonih
