Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment Jose W. Fernandez, U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Art Brown and Ecuador’s Minister of Energy, and Mines Antonio Gonçalves, marked Ecuador’s entry into the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) Forum during the Under Secretary’s visit to Quito on August 27.
Under Secretary Fernandez emphasized the important role Ecuador plays in building global critical minerals supply chains. The decision to join the MSP Forum will expand cooperation between Ecuador, the United States, and all MSP Partners and MSP Forum countries to promote trade across the entire value chain from exploration, extraction, processing, and refining, to recycling and recovery.
Under Secretary Fernandez also announced two in-person MSP-related events during the United Nations General Assembly in September, which will allow Ecuador to connect with MSP partners, other MSP Forum members, and public and private sector financial institutions to share information on mining sector opportunities and growth.
In an expansion of the MSP’s engagement with mineral-producing countries, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis launched the MSP Forum in April 2024 to deepen the MSP’s partnership with mineral-producing countries committed to high environmental, social, and governance principles and ready to advance mutually beneficial dialogue and cooperation on critical minerals. MSP Forum members are working together to develop individual projects and promote a dialogue on policies that contribute to diversification and resilience of supply chains.
For more information on the MSP, go to https://www.state.gov/minerals-security-partnership/. To stay up to date, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on X: @State_E, LinkedIn: @State-E, and Facebook: @StateDeptE. For media inquiries, please contact E_Communications@state.gov.
