EP.9 – The Global High Tea Series | India-GCC Cooperation in Critical Minerals: Building Resilient Supply Chains for a Clean Energy Transition

Introduction

Critical minerals are becoming increasingly important to global economic competitiveness, energy security and technological advancement. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare earth elements are essential for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, battery storage and advanced manufacturing. As countries accelerate their energy transitions and seek to diversify their supply chains, access to these resources has emerged as a strategic priority. For India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, this presents an opportunity to expand a longstanding partnership centred on hydrocarbons, trade, investment and energy security towards cooperation in critical minerals and clean energy technologies.

India’s growing demand for critical minerals is closely linked to its renewable energy ambitions, electric mobility, advanced manufacturing and broader objectives of technological self-reliance. The National Critical Minerals Mission, launched in January 2025 with an outlay of ₹34,300 crore over seven years, identifies international partnerships as an important mechanism for securing reliable and diversified mineral supply chains. GCC countries, meanwhile, are pursuing economic diversification strategies that increasingly emphasise mining, mineral processing, international resource investments and the development of downstream industries. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 identifies mining as a key pillar of economic diversification, while the UAE is leveraging its financial and logistical capabilities to strengthen its position in global critical minerals supply chains.

Recent developments indicate growing momentum in India-GCC cooperation in this sector. India signed an agreement with the UAE in September 2024 to strengthen critical minerals supply chains and an agreement with Saudi Arabia in February 2025 covering joint exploration and technology transfer. Partnerships involving Indian companies and GCC-based investors also offer opportunities in battery recycling, mineral processing and investments in overseas mining projects. These initiatives reflect the potential to combine India’s technical expertise, industrial capabilities and mineral-processing requirements with GCC capital, international investment networks and emerging mining ecosystems.

Beyond bilateral cooperation, India and GCC countries could explore opportunities for joint investments in mineral-rich third countries, particularly in Africa, where access to resources can support diversified supply chains. Such partnerships could combine GCC investment capacity with India’s technical and industrial capabilities while supporting local value addition in resource-producing countries. Regional connectivity initiatives, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), may also provide opportunities to strengthen logistics, trade facilitation and the movement of critical minerals across international markets.

However, building reliable critical minerals partnerships requires more than securing access to raw materials. Cooperation must also address mineral processing, recycling, technology transfer, investment risks, regulatory coordination and responsible sourcing. Environmental sustainability, social safeguards, transparent supply chains and community engagement will be essential to ensuring that these partnerships deliver long-term benefits. India and the GCC can therefore explore a broader framework that connects resource access with research, industrial development, sustainable mining and the development of resilient mineral value chains.

The webinar will examine how India and GCC countries can deepen cooperation in critical minerals as part of their evolving economic and strategic partnership. It will explore the role of bilateral agreements, investment partnerships, technology transfer, third-country collaboration and regulatory coordination in strengthening supply chain resilience and supporting the clean energy transition.

Key Takeaways

1. Critical Minerals Complement Rather Than Replace Hydrocarbons: The global energy transition is adding critical minerals to the traditional energy-security agenda, not replacing oil and gas. India continues to depend heavily on crude oil imports, while critical minerals such as lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earths are essential for its clean energy, electric mobility, battery storage and advanced manufacturing ambitions.
2. Converging Economic Diversification Priorities: India’s National Critical Minerals Mission and the GCC countries’ economic diversification strategies create opportunities for cooperation. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 identifies mining as a third pillar of its economy, the UAE is leveraging its strengths in logistics and advanced manufacturing, Oman is developing its copper sector, and Qatar is exploring overseas investment opportunities.
3. Hydrocarbon Wealth Is Financing the Energy Transition: GCC sovereign wealth funds, state-owned enterprises and private investors are using capital generated from hydrocarbons to support investments in critical minerals, renewable energy and emerging industries. This creates opportunities to connect Gulf capital with India’s industrial and technological capabilities.
4. From Energy Cooperation to Industrial Partnerships: India–GCC cooperation should extend beyond resource access and conventional energy trade towards joint exploration, mineral processing, refining, recycling, logistics and advanced manufacturing. Greater attention to midstream and downstream activities is essential to capture value across the mineral supply chain.
5. Complementary Strengths Can Drive Joint Investments: India can contribute market demand, engineering expertise, industrial capabilities and skilled professionals, while GCC countries can provide patient capital, investment networks and access to overseas mineral assets. Joint ventures and special investment vehicles could help combine these strengths, including through partnerships in third countries.
6. Commercial Viability and Long-Term Investment Are Essential: Critical mineral projects involve significant exploration risks, infrastructure requirements and long gestation periods. Sovereign wealth funds can absorb some investment risks, but financing alone cannot guarantee success. Strong project economics, transparent governance and long-term commercial viability are essential to attract broader private-sector participation.
7. Value Addition Matters More Than Extraction Alone: A major opportunity lies in developing domestic capabilities in mineral processing, metallurgy, refining, permanent magnets and advanced materials. Reducing dependence on a limited number of countries for processing and distribution will require India and the GCC to invest across the entire value chain.
8. Skills, Research and Technology Partnerships Are Critical: Building local industrial capabilities requires investment in geology, mining engineering, metallurgy, exploration technologies and workforce development. Joint research, specialised training, university partnerships and AI-enabled exploration can accelerate technological learning and strengthen operational capabilities in both regions.
9. Recycling and Sustainable Mining Must Be Prioritised: Critical mineral extraction and processing are energy-, water- and resource-intensive activities with significant environmental implications. Cooperation in recycling, resource efficiency and sustainable processing can improve mineral life-cycle management and reduce environmental pressures.
10. Practical Standards and Institutional Coordination Are Necessary: India and the GCC have an opportunity to develop compatible standards for sustainable sourcing, environmental governance and responsible mineral development. These frameworks should be practical and commercially workable, supported by regulatory coordination, research partnerships and effective implementation mechanisms.

Speaker

Dr Ramu C. M.

Senior Analyst (Geopolitics & Threat Intelligence)

Cyber Security Foundation, Bayer

Dr. Ramu C. M. is a Senior Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at Bayer, with expertise spanning cyber threat intelligence, geopolitical risk, energy security and critical minerals. He holds a Ph.D. in Geopolitics and International Relations from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, where his doctoral research examined hydrocarbon-based energy linkages across the Persian Gulf and Caspian Basin. Before joining Bayer, he advised corporate, financial, humanitarian and energy-sector clients on geopolitical developments and security risks across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, West Asia and Africa. He is a paid geopolitical commentator for Sky News Arabia and Asharq-Bloomberg and writes on energy security, critical minerals, green hydrogen, maritime geopolitics and Eurasian energy corridors. He has also contributed to strategic policy and defence dialogues on corporate resilience, energy security and critical-mineral supply chains. His work examines how geopolitical competition, cyber security and economic statecraft shape corporate resilience and the security of strategic resource supply chains.

Moderator

Dr Dhritishree Bordalai

Senior Research Associate, International Relations

Centre for Public Policy Research

Dr Dhritishree Bordalai is a Senior Research Associate (International Relations) at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, India. She holds a PhD from the Centre for European Studies (CES), School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. She completed her MPhil in European Studies from SIS, JNU. Dhritishree has completed her Master’s in Politics with Specialisation in International Relations from SIS, JNU. She graduated from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi with History as her key discipline. She has a Certificate in Public Policy and Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K). She has interned at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in New Delhi and was previously working as a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE, GoI).

Dhritishree has been awarded the UGC-DAAD Short-Term Scholarship during her PhD at the Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft (OSI), Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. She has attended several national and international conferences on her area of research and presented a paper at the Young Researchers Conference in JNU. Her core areas of research are migration, security and refugee studies.

Watch Now