US and Uzbekistan sign critical minerals pact

LONDON: The U.S. government has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to secure better access to the Central Asian country’s critical minerals, as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to counter China’s dominance of crucial resources and their supply chains.

The “Joint Investment Framework” between the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC) and Central Asia’s most populous nation aims to advance the two countries’ strategic cooperation, an outline of the plan from the DFC said.

It will prioritise investments across the critical mineral value chain including exploration, extraction and processing, and proposes a new U.S.–Uzbekistan Joint Investment Holding Company for future minerals and infrastructure projects, the DFC’s plan said.

Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since Donald Trump’s return to power, the U.S. has courted the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia and moved to bolster its influence in a region where Russia and China have traditionally enjoyed primacy.

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Trump hosted his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, alongside the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan at the White House in November, and earlier this month held a minerals summit that resulted in initial Memorandums of Understanding on critical mineral supplies with 11 countries, including Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s second-largest economy, has been pursuing a programme of economic reform since Mirziyoyev – who was in Washington on Wednesday for the inaugural meeting of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ that he has joined - took office in 2016.

The country of almost 40 million has significant reserves of gold, uranium and copper, as well as significant untapped reserves of dozens of critical minerals such as lithium and tungsten that sit at the heart of modern technology.

The agreement with Uzbekistan also highlights the DFC’s growing role in Trump’s strategy. It already plays a key part in the Ukraine minerals deal struck last year and is spearheading projects in a number of resource-rich African countries.

Uzbekistan’s version will “promote cooperation to advance shared economic interests, and encourage joint investment in strategic sectors including critical minerals, infrastructure, and energy,” the DFC said in a statement on the agreement.