On February 8th, the U.S. Department of State hosted the inaugural meeting of the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialog (CMD), an initiative announced by Joe Biden and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at their C5+1 summit in New York in September 2023.
The C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialog aims to increase the region’s involvement in global critical minerals supply chains, strengthen economic cooperation, and advance the transition to clean energy, while also protecting Central Asia’s unique ecosystems, the U.S. Department of State said.
The United States Under-Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose W. Fernandez, chaired the CMD meeting, and 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 standards.
The participants of the meeting underscored the benefit of working together to advance their countries’ shared critical minerals objectives including diversification of markets and development of technologies.
