By Diplomacy Journal Lee Gil-ju

The Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Commission convened the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) Principals’ Meeting in Brussels, Belgium on November 18, 2025, on the margins of EU Raw Materials Week.

The Principals’ Meeting brought together senior officials to advance joint efforts to build secure, resilient, and sustainable critical minerals supply chains, which are essential for advanced industries, economic security, and fair and liquid markets.

The meeting was followed by a Deep-Dive Session where MSP partners, together with financial institutions, off-takers, international organizations, provided a platform for mineral companies to present projects – including those in rare earth mining, refining and recycling, as well as a wide range of cobalt, copper, and lithium projects. Both the Principals’ Meeting and Deep-Dive were convened by the Republic of Korea as the Chair of the MSP.

Partners expressed concern that global supply chain risks and geopolitical pressures have intensified and reaffirmed their shared commitment to the Partnership’s mission and emphasized the MSP’s vital role in building trusted, diverse, and resilient critical minerals supply chains essential for global economic security and industrial competitiveness.

Secure critical mineral supply chains require a comprehensive approach across the full value chain, including refining, processing, advanced recycling, and other value-added functions. Diversified and competitive midstream capacity is key to long-term supply chain resilience.

The Partnership’s focus is on the delivery of real-world outcomes and measurable impact through a range of support given to projects from project identification stage to implementation and scale-up. Partners noted that the MSP is an action-oriented partnership and committed to continued sharing information on project progress and available financing tools.

Recognizing the unique financing challenges associated with critical minerals projects, Partners reaffirmed the importance of coordinated public, private, and financial-sector efforts to reduce risk and mobilize capital at scale, as well as the need to address non-market policies and unfair trade practices that distort the market for critical minerals.

Partners reaffirmed the importance of working closely within the context of the MSP Forum to engage with resource-rich countries as well as emerging economies to support value-added production, local capacity building, and sustainable development.

Partners highlighted, among others, the importance of responsible production, and environmental transparency to promote standards-based markets, and cutting-edge resource recovery and recycling technologies. They exchanged views on how technology cooperation and policy coordination can be strengthened within and beyond the MSP.