India and Russia on the verge of concluding a major strategic agreement on lithium and rare earths

India and Russia are in advanced talks to sign a strategic agreement on critical minerals, including lithium and rare earths, according to sources close to the matter cited by Reuters.

The draft agreement would cover several key areas, including mineral exploration, resource processing, and technological cooperation. The two countries also plan to facilitate investments between their companies to strengthen their partnership in a sector that has become highly strategic.

According to sources, the agreement could be signed within two months. "We have shared a draft agreement with our Russian counterparts," one of them said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations.

This initiative comes at a time of intensifying global competition for critical minerals. Lithium and rare earth elements are essential for electric batteries, defense technologies, semiconductors, and infrastructure related to the energy transition.

For several years, the Indian government has sought to secure its supply of strategic resources in order to reduce its dependence on foreign countries and support its industrial ambitions. However, New Delhi's attempts to develop mining projects abroad have so far met with limited results.

In this context, India could also re-examine a lithium project developed in Mali by Rosatom, according to the sources interviewed.

The discussions are being led on the Indian side by the Ministry of Mines. Neither Indian authorities nor Russian officials, including the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the office of Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

This rapprochement between India and Russia underlines the desire of both powers to strengthen their economic cooperation despite international geopolitical tensions and Western sanctions targeting Moscow.