India, May 26 -- Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday signed a Framework on the "Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths", aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation across the strategic sector.

According to a Ministry of External Affairs statement, the framework seeks to enhance India-US collaboration across the entire critical minerals value chain, including mining, processing, recycling, and related investments.

It is designed to strengthen resilient and diversified supply chains while also promoting cooperation in financing and efficient management of critical minerals and rare earth scrap.

The MEA said the agreement marks "an impo...