(Adnkronos) – Foreign minister Antonio Tajani is taking part in an international meeting on critical minerals on Wednesday in Washington DC organised by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who will open the conference with US vice-president J.D. Vance, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The meeting forms part of a broader international debate on strategic supply chains and economic cooperation in the sector, the statement noted.
“Representatives from numerous European and non-European countries are attending Wednesday’s critical minerals meeting, which will be an opportunity for the United States to present the reconfiguration of the Mineral Security Partnership,” the statement said.
The partnership “will be transformed into a multilateral initiative aimed at promoting cooperation in the extraction, processing, recycling and resilience of critical mineral supply chains and to initiate a dialogue on investment prospects and possible joint projects,” said the statement.
Tajani will speak at the first session of the meeting and will represent the position of Italy, which, as Europe’s second largest manufacturer and fourth largest exporter worldwide, “has long advocated the need to strengthen the security and reliability of value chains,” the statement continued.
Italy’s top diplomat will confirm the strategic importance of transatlantic cooperation and close coordination with European partners – starting with Germany, as agreed by Tajani and counterpart Johann Wadephul at the Italy-Germany Summit last month – to forge new industrial policies to support critical raw material supply chains, the statement went on.
The meeting will also offer an opportunity for “a new exchange of views” between Tajani and Rubio on key international issues, according to the statement.
During his Washington visit, Tajani is set to meet members of the Italian-American community for the launch of charity scheme for the regions of southern Italy hit by devastating flooding and storm surges during January’s Cyclone Harry.
Member of the National Italian American Foundation are set to give Tajani a copy of a bank transfer of the first funds NIAF has raised for flood-damaged regions of Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia, Tajani announced at a press conference in Cagliari late on Monday.
While in Washington, Tajani will also meet with a group of top Italian entrepreneurs who have operations in the United States, the statement concluded.
