US-Pakistani Engagement Focuses On Strategic Priority On Strategic Minerals And Security Coordination – OpEd

There has been a deafening commotion of US diplomatic activity in Pakistan in recent weeks, with its strategic minerals sector particularly under the spotlight. Two senior US delegations visited Pakistan in April, an indication of Washington’s increasing desire to deepen economic and strategic relationships.

One of them, whose leader was Eric Meyer of the U.S. Bureau of Central and South Asian Affairs, went to an investment forum designed to promote U.S.-Pakistan collaboration for mineral development. Meyer said that working together on strategic minerals is a shared area of interest of the utmost priority, as the materials have a strategic value to both countries.

“President Trump has declared diversifying sources of vital minerals a national security issue,” Meyer was quoted by Pakistani officials as saying in a U.S. Embassy statement. He further added Pakistan’s mineral resources, if harnessed judiciously with transparency and accountability, have the potential of win-win situations.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan Congressional delegation paid their first visit to Pakistan in nearly two years. The politicians and the generals welcomed them to feel the political temperature and gauge the prospects of long-term cooperation. The sessions would be preceded by a session of the Pakistan-U.S. Caucus on April 30 in New York, which would be more of a wide political and government-related issue in Pakistan.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to talk about potential cooperation in the mineral sector and economic prospects overall.

This swift move has prompted questions whether a strategic long-term shift is on the cards in U.S.-Pakistan relations or short-term interest will be fleeting.

Critical minerals, the very foundation of next-generation technologies such as AI, electric cars, and clean energy, are soon to be the subject of global competition for dominance. Copper is especially very sought after. The world AI infrastructure would demand more than 400,000 tons of copper by 2030, according to estimates. The Reko Diq mine, situated in Balochistan province of Pakistan, one of the world’s biggest known deposits of copper and gold, will go into production by 2028.

While China currently is overwhelming mineral marketplaces worldwide—particularly in Africa—by leaps and bounds, the United States also is increasing its own endeavor to secure its supply chains. Washington already is well ahead in negotiations with nations like Congo and Ukraine regarding mineral cooperation, and Pakistan now also is under consideration to be added to that negotiation.

Although formal announcements are yet to be made, Islamabad is said to have already approached Washington with proposals indicating probable terms of cooperation on important minerals. Trends in regional security are also informing these negotiations.

Counterterrorism is also dictating U.S.-Pakistan relations. Soon, in an important security meeting later this month, there will be discussion of the terrorist threats to the region emerging from Afghanistan, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State Khorasan Province. Part of the larger issue of concern is the projected $7 billion worth of abandoned U.S. arms in Afghanistan, some portion of which, as reported, has been employed by local militant groups.

But to turn this diplomatic push into actual economic benefits, Pakistan will need to clean up shop at home. Safety in provinces as rich as Balochistan must be attended to on a priority basis, and policy changes must be undertaken to attract and retain foreign investment. Legal improprieties and disagreements between the federal government and the provinces over resource access must be resolved.

It is only from a stable, open, and investor-friendly economy that Pakistan will be able to place itself to be a market sure thing when it comes to strategic minerals and ride renewed demand in the U.S.