Latest news with #centralAsian
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
India, central Asian countries express interest in joint rare earths exploration
NEW DELHI – India and five central Asian countries have expressed interest in jointly exploring for rare earths and critical minerals, they said in a joint statement on June 6 after the fourth meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue. The announcement comes amid global alarm over China's decision to curb exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets, spooking industries ranging from automobiles and clean energy to defence. India and the central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – also called upon 'relevant authorities' for an early meeting of the India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum, which last met in September. 'The ministers also encouraged exchange of delegations to explore new areas of cooperation in critical minerals,' the statement said, adding the sides agreed to hold their next meeting in 2026. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements used in the creation of magnets that power motion for cars, cellphones, missiles and other electronics. China mines about 60 per cent of the world's rare earths and makes 90 per cent of rare earth magnets. Beijing, however, has announced export restrictions on these in April as part of its sweeping response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. India is holding talks with companies to establish long-term stockpiles of rare earth magnets by offering fiscal incentives for domestic production, as it looks to reduce dependence on shipments from China. It also plans to launch incentives for recycling 24 critical minerals – a plan that is in the final stages of approval – as it looks to secure the minerals needed for green energy transition. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
India seeks to bolster Central Asia trade ties
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap for further deepening of India-Central Asia ties in trade, economic and investment. Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three broad objectives for strengthening the economic partnership — deepen existing cooperation, diversify the trade basket and introduce sustainability and predictability in economic interactions. 'One, is to deepen the existing cooperation both in terms of volume and in terms of quality. There is already I think a recognition in each others countries and each others economies of the players and of the products. But, we must build further on that foundation and a very good example here is actually the pharmaceutical sector,' he told the gathering. 'Two, we need to diversify our trade baskets so that all of us have more options and we have more competition and in a way we are looking for new opportunities. I would like our friends from central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is in excess of $4 trillion, which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services and even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,' EAM Jaishankar also stressed on the need to introduce greater sustainability and more predictability in economic interactions. 'That means more long-term contracts and arrangements, cross investments, joint ventures and certainly sectors like energy whether we are talking uranium, whether we are talking crude oil even potentially gas, whether we are looking at mining, If you are talking about coal or if you are discussing fertilizers, I think these are all relevant examples to reach really long term understatings between us,' the foreign minister trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have shown a very strong positive trend. Mutual trade was less than $500 million a decade ago in 2014. Today, 'what we have collectively is actually a trade volume which is almost touching $2 billion.
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
India, central Asian countries express interest in joint rare earths exploration
NEW DELHI: India and five central Asian countries have expressed interest in joint exploration of rare earths and critical minerals, they said in a joint statement on Friday after the fourth meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue, held in New Delhi. India plans rare earth magnet incentives as supply threat mounts They also called upon relevant authorities for an early meeting of the India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India, five central Asian countries express interest in joint rare earth mineral exploration amid Chinese restrictions
India and five central Asian countries have expressed interest in joint exploration of rare earths and critical minerals, they said in a joint statement on Friday after the fourth meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue , held in New Delhi. "The Sides expressed interest in joint exploration of rare earth and critical minerals. Appreciating the outcomes of the first India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum held in September 2024 in New Delhi, they called upon the relevant authorities to hold the second India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum meeting at the earliest convenience. The Ministers also encouraged exchange of delegations to explore new areas of cooperation in critical minerals," said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement. The 4th meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 6 June 2025. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the meeting. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like War Thunder - Register now for free and play against over 75 Million real Players War Thunder Play Now Undo At present, China mines about 70% of the world's rare earths but has a virtual monopoly on refining and processing. China had earlier, on April 4, imposed export controls on six heavy rare earth elements (REEs) and rare earth magnets. The country cited reasons like national security and international obligations such as non-proliferation. Live Events Although these curbs are not a complete ban on exports for the auto sector, companies must now seek prior government approval before shipping these materials out of China. This adds uncertainty and delay in the supply process. The report also mentioned that the Indian government is aware of the growing risks. According to a Reuters report on Friday, India is in discussions with various companies to build long-term stockpiles of rare earth magnets. As part of this plan, Indian government is likely to offer fiscal incentives to promote domestic production of these crucial components. Contrary to their name, rare earth elements, especially the lighter ones, are not actually rare in the Earth's crust. But they are spread out in low concentrations, which makes extraction and processing difficult.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh heads to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Amid Pakistan's outreach to Eurasia following Operation Sindoor, India is deputing a minister to visit Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, both of whom share strategic partnership with New Delhi. Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, and Environment, Forest & Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh will visit Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic for a week beginning Friday. Singh will meet the foreign ministers of both countries and other high-level officials. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Alerta: Você tem zumbido no ouvido? Dica de ouro pode aliviar! Zumbido no ouvido Undo Kyrgyzstan withdrew its envoy from Pakistan for appearing to be pro-Pakistan during the Indo-Pak conflict as Bishkek felt it would damage its ties with India. Bishkek withdrew its envoy from Islamabad for organising a CEO Forum in the middle of the India-Pakistan conflict as the central Asian country's President felt that such a forum could be viewed as a step that could jeopardise its ties with New Delhi. While Pakistan has increased its business ties with Kyrgyzstan and people-to-people ties have picked up, Bishkek's ties with India date back to the Soviet Union days and are built on goodwill ever since. Recently, the Kyrgyz authorities also cracked down on illegal migrants presumably from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Live Events India is also planning to host five Central Asian foreign ministers in June to boost counter-terror, connectivity and business ties. In Tajikistan, MoS will lead the Indian delegation to the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation being held in Dushanbe on 29 May-1 June, officials informed.
