News

On 17 September in Washington, D.C., the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys and the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a bilateral framework agreement between Lithuania and the United States on cooperation in critical minerals.

The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation between Lithuania and the U.S. by ensuring a secure and diversified supply of critical raw materials, promoting investment in their extraction and processing, increasing supply chain resilience, and reducing strategic dependencies.

“Today, economic security is an integral part of national security. By signing this agreement, we are strengthening the strategic partnership between Lithuania and the U.S. and laying the groundwork for safer, more resilient, and more reliable supply chains for critical raw materials,” said Budrys.

Lithuania aims to contribute to these goals by leveraging its expertise in high-tech manufacturing, advanced technologies, the processing of critical materials, and logistics.

“Lithuania can offer not only a political commitment but also concrete added value. We are ready to actively contribute to the development of an ecosystem for advanced technologies and critical raw materials together with the U.S. and other partners,” the Minister emphasized.

According to Budrys, Lithuania’s participation in this U.S. initiative marks an important step in strengthening strategic cooperation with one of Lithuania’s most important partners in the areas of economic security and advanced technologies.

“This agreement opens up new opportunities to attract investment, strengthen Lithuania’s competitiveness, and reduce geopolitical risks. We aim for Lithuania to become a reliable link in the creation of safer and more resilient transatlantic supply chains,” said Budrys.

The agreement will also help increase Lithuania’s investment attractiveness, reduce business risks, and strengthen national and economic security. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania approved the signing of the agreement with the U.S. earlier this month.

Poland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and other countries have already signed similar agreements with the U.S. The European Union also signed a corresponding memorandum with the United States in April of this year.