During the international summit held on February 4 in Washington under the auspices of the State Department, Uzbekistan and the USA signed a memorandum formalizing their cooperation in the extraction and supply of critically important minerals. The document was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau.
Uzbekistan was among ten key countries, such as the UAE, Peru, and the Philippines, with which the United States has concluded similar agreements. Bakhtiyor Saidov noted that the republic has significant potential in the field of rare metals and plans to develop this sector in accordance with global standards and principles of sustainable development. He also emphasized that this cooperation is an example of responsible partnership, in addition to economic benefits.
At meetings, including with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, not only issues of raw material supply were discussed, but also a wide range of bilateral relations. Topics such as expanding trade ties, deepening interaction in the "C5+1" format, and joint efforts to combat illegal migration were also on the agenda. Washington expressed interest in further dialogue with Tashkent both in the area of regional security and in matters of energy stability.
These steps are being taken amid a global market restructuring. The American administration is actively announcing its intentions to diversify supply chains to minimize the risk of political blackmail from countries that hold a monopoly on minerals. These measures correlate with Donald Trump's initiative - the Project Vault, which aims to create a strategic resource reserve worth nearly $12 billion to protect major American technology companies from raw material shortages.
