SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has a simple rule for the supply chains that will power the next century: don’t put everything in one basket. “It’s just not smart for the whole world to depend on one place for 100% of anything,” Rubio said Monday. “Because then you’re dependent on what happens in that country, what happens in that region. It could be anything that disrupts it.”
Rubio said the point “is not an attack on any specific country.” It is common sense. “If you look at all of the technologies and industries that are going to define the 21st century, many of them will be heavy reliant on critical minerals,” he said. “I think there is a global prioritization being emphasized on diversifying supply chains of everything. And that includes critical minerals.”
Central Asia is rich in those resources, and Rubio made the case directly to the countries at the table. “If you are a country that has critical minerals, and perhaps even the ability to process them, it is in your national interest, your economic national interest, to fully develop those resources in a way that’s responsible and sustainable,” he said.
The United States, he said, is ready to be that partner. “When we find countries that want to partner with us on diversifying critical minerals in supply chains, and in particular, being able to utilize their critical minerals in a way that benefits their country, we’re obviously going to explore that, and I think we have a chance to do that here.”
Rubio met Monday in Samarkand with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov. Under President Trump, America is showing up for the resources that will build the future, and making sure no single country holds the keys.
