Japan and other partners back FORGE forum as ministers pledge supply-chain diversification
February 04, 2026 | US Department of State
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Japan’s delegate affirmed support for a new international forum and emphasized supply diversification as the main route to resilience.
In opening statements, a Japanese state minister who identified himself in the transcript as Yuai Lehi addressed the gathering and praised the United States for convening the ministerial. He said Japan has designated critical minerals a priority area of economic-security policy, cited a budget figure of $3,500,000,000 for relevant programs (as stated in the transcript), and welcomed FORGE — the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement — as an important venue for coordination.
Other ministers and participants were described in the transcript as representing a wide range of resource-rich and consuming countries — including Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and speakers repeatedly stressed that diversification requires collective action across mining, refining and manufacturing. Japan’s delegate said both upstream (mining and refining) and downstream (processing and industrial engagement) steps will be required and urged industrial engagement in any mechanism.
Why this matters: Several countries represented at the ministerial have upstream deposits or refining capacity, and coordination among producer and consumer states could change investment flows and trade patterns. The transcript records commitments to collaborate on framework agreements and to sign critical-minerals frameworks with partners later in the day, though those frameworks were not included in the press transcript itself.
Reporter exchanges: During Q&A, the moderator called on country-specific reporters; Secretary Rubio and other officials repeatedly framed the effort as a U.S.-hosted convener and urged broad adoption of the FORGE approach to make supply chains “reliable and diverse across the world,” as stated in the transcript.
Next steps: Officials said plenary sessions would feature presentations from development-finance institutions and export-credit agencies to showcase financing tools. The ministerial was described as the start of negotiations and implementation will be subject to subsequent bilateral and multilateral agreements.
In opening statements, a Japanese state minister who identified himself in the transcript as Yuai Lehi addressed the gathering and praised the United States for convening the ministerial. He said Japan has designated critical minerals a priority area of economic-security policy, cited a budget figure of $3,500,000,000 for relevant programs (as stated in the transcript), and welcomed FORGE — the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement — as an important venue for coordination.
Other ministers and participants were described in the transcript as representing a wide range of resource-rich and consuming countries — including Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and speakers repeatedly stressed that diversification requires collective action across mining, refining and manufacturing. Japan’s delegate said both upstream (mining and refining) and downstream (processing and industrial engagement) steps will be required and urged industrial engagement in any mechanism.
Why this matters: Several countries represented at the ministerial have upstream deposits or refining capacity, and coordination among producer and consumer states could change investment flows and trade patterns. The transcript records commitments to collaborate on framework agreements and to sign critical-minerals frameworks with partners later in the day, though those frameworks were not included in the press transcript itself.
Reporter exchanges: During Q&A, the moderator called on country-specific reporters; Secretary Rubio and other officials repeatedly framed the effort as a U.S.-hosted convener and urged broad adoption of the FORGE approach to make supply chains “reliable and diverse across the world,” as stated in the transcript.
Next steps: Officials said plenary sessions would feature presentations from development-finance institutions and export-credit agencies to showcase financing tools. The ministerial was described as the start of negotiations and implementation will be subject to subsequent bilateral and multilateral agreements.
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