Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 8 February, the U.S. Department of State hosted the inaugural meeting of the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue (CMD), an initiative announced by President Biden and the presidents of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the 19 September 2023, C5+1 Presidential Summit in New York.

Following the largest mining conference in Africa, Mining Indaba, where Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez advanced cooperation on securing and strengthening critical mineral supply chains, he chaired the C5+1 discussion on goals and objectives of the CMD, which will seek to increase the region’s involvement in global critical minerals supply chains, strengthen economic cooperation, and advance the clean energy transition, while also protecting Central Asia’s unique ecosystems.

Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt moderated the event, accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asian Affairs John Mark Pommersheim and colleagues from across the U.S. government who work on critical minerals. Senior officials from each of the Central Asian governments shared their interest in developing investment opportunities in critical minerals that meet the highest environmental, social standards, and governance.

In the spirit of C5+1 collaboration, each country underscored the benefit of working together to advance our shared critical minerals objectives in a manner that will benefit all our citizens. Among the initiatives discussed, the United States emphasized opportunities through the Minerals Security Partnership and Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. In the lead-up to the mining and exploration convention in Toronto, Canada, called Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), the United States welcomed input from the C5 countries to promote new partnership and investment opportunities and efforts to continue the dialogue through national coordinators within the C5+1 framework.