His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, and Her Excellency the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Conservative Party member), Kemi Badenoch, signed a Letter of Intent to enhance cooperation in the field of critical minerals. This aims to strengthen their commitment to the joint development of supply chains for critical minerals necessary for the global transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
Al-Khorayef explained that this step comes as part of raising the level of cooperation in the bilateral relations between the two countries in the industrial and mining sectors, contributing to global efforts toward a green future, which all countries aim to achieve. This requires new and stable sources of essential minerals.
His Excellency emphasized that both Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom share a vision aimed at ensuring the availability of minerals necessary for the transition to clean energy, while maintaining high sustainability standards. The Letter of Intent will allow the two countries to diversify supply chains for critical minerals in several industries that are heavy users of these minerals, including electric vehicle manufacturing, aviation, defense, and renewable energy.
For her part, UK Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch confirmed that critical minerals are essential for daily life, including electric vehicles, medical devices, wind turbines, and solar panels. She considered that signing the Letter of Intent with Saudi Arabia will strengthen the partnership between the two countries in developing supply chains and industrial cooperation.
The project aims to increase and diversify global supply sources for critical minerals, prioritizing sustainable and responsible production, focusing on developing a shared understanding of critical minerals strategies, and ensuring supply chain resilience. It also encourages the replacement and recycling of critical minerals, and establishing a unified vision for the mining and minerals sector that aligns with global environmental standards and enhances the rights of communities and workers.
The Letter of Intent seeks to coordinate with multilateral forums regarding critical minerals supply chains, involve the private sector in identifying new vital supply chains, explore opportunities for joint investment, and identify areas for cooperation on clean mining technologies, resource efficiency, substitution, and other related technologies. It also aims to facilitate knowledge exchange on projects, skills development, and practical initiatives related to critical minerals.
