SECRETARY BLINKEN: Jose, thanks a lot. Thanks for bringing us collectively. It’s great to see everybody right here. Thanks for taking the time to return collectively this afternoon.
To every of you, each these from the Mineral Safety Partnership nations and people from minerals-producing nations, that is I feel a kind of classes the place, as we are saying, it will get actual. This makes a distinction, a concrete distinction, and we’re very anxious to listen to particularly from all of you right now.
Let me simply say just a few phrases on the high about why we’re right here.
In June, the United States, together with a number of key companions, many of whom are right here right now, launched this partnership as a result of we acknowledge that essential mineral provide chains are merely very important to our shared future. And I feel that’s an understanding that’s getting increasingly more widespread and deeply rooted in all of our nations.
As everybody on this room is aware of very properly, we face a profound local weather disaster that requires us to transition to wash power applied sciences, like electrical autos, like photo voltaic, like wind energy, which provide us an efficient method to each minimize carbon emissions and create good-paying jobs.
Important minerals are on the coronary heart of this transition. They’re important parts of the applied sciences that may energy our clear power future, like electrical autos and batteries, wind generators, photo voltaic panels.
To make sure that these applied sciences can truly be deployed shortly, we all know that now we have to construct resilient, various, and safe essential mineral provide chains by supporting extra profitable essential mineral initiatives. So this, I feel, is a shared understanding and one which we’re introduced collectively to work on.
One other goal of this partnership, the Minerals Safety Partnership, is to assist initiatives that adhere to excessive environmental, social, and governance requirements. We wish to make this a race to the highest, not a race to the underside.
Too typically, the connection between minerals-producing and minerals-purchasing nations has been extractive and characterised by abusive working situations. Typically, it’s left behind environmental degradation and devastated communities.
We wish to break this cycle by significant collaboration and session with native communities close to mining websites, and particularly with teams which have traditionally been uncared for. And we goal to ensure that minerals-rich nations profit from all phases of the worth chain, from extraction to processing to recycling. That’s in the end how we are able to ensure that every challenge truly serves your communities and uplifts your residents.
Now, we’re already starting to see new initiatives which are supporting financial development on all sides. Simply to quote one instance, a graphite mine in Balama, Mozambique, which employs tons of of native employees, contributes tens of millions of {dollars} in neighborhood growth, and undermines the goals of those that would sow battle. The graphite from this mine will quickly be despatched for additional processing to a plant in Louisiana, the place it’ll create extra jobs and the place it’ll present graphite used for batteries by American electrical automobile firms.
The US and our MSP companions stand prepared to assist you as we make extra of those initiatives a actuality. That’s, as I say, the place it actually will get actual, the place we’re turning the targets of this partnership into sensible initiatives.
Now what that assist will appear to be varies, in fact, from challenge to challenge. For some initiatives, it might imply that the United States or a associate nation helps with decreasing the chance of the challenge, together with by offering a mortgage assure or debt financing. And I do know that the chair of Export-Import Financial institution, Chair Lewis, could have much more to say about that in a couple of minutes. For different initiatives, it might imply connecting firms with our nations’ personal sectors or supporting them with technical help by our embassies.
We perceive that minerals manufacturing and processing requires numerous funding and endeavor numerous danger. By means of the MSP, we’re dedicated to serving to with each.
So largely what we wish to do right now is to listen to from everybody right here how we are able to work extra intently collectively on our shared targets, what challenges you’re dealing with as you develop these sources, what alternatives are there that you just see that aren’t being absolutely realized, and the way can the US and different MSP companions assist advance your essential minerals industries. These are the questions I’d like to start with placing on the desk, and largely I’m keen to listen to from all of you.
So we glance ahead to deepening the partnership within the months forward. That is one thing that I feel could make a profound distinction on one thing that’s – the phrase “essential” is connected to essential power minerals. This actually is essential, and we’re grateful for everybody being right here right now and for the work that we’re doing each day collectively.
Let me cease there. Thanks.