S. Korea, Mongolia to hold first ministerial-level committee on rare metals supply chain
South Korea and Mongolia plan to hold a ministerial committee on rare metals later this year as part of expanded bilateral cooperation on the supply chain for critical minerals, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday, Yonhap reports.
On the sidelines of the Korea-Mongolia summit in Ulaanbaatar, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with his Mongolian counterpart, Gongor Damdinnyam, and agreed to upgrade their vice ministerial cooperation committee to a ministerial-level body, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
The inaugural meeting is expected to take place in the second half of the year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
The two sides also plan to revise the Korea-Mongolia memorandum of understanding (MOU) on rare metal supply chain cooperation, which was signed in February 2023, at the upcoming ministerial meeting.
As the rare metals cooperation center, launched under an official development assistance (ODA) project, is set to conclude next year, the two countries also agreed to pursue follow-up projects aimed at developing the center into a sustainable cooperation platform.
Kim stressed that transparent information sharing and improvements in logistics and transportation infrastructure are essential to facilitate the entry of Korean companies into the Mongolian market.
Damdinnyam pledged continued support to help address difficulties faced by Korean companies, noting that South Korea is a key partner in resource development and value-added processing, according to the ministry.
Earlier, Qazinform reported the South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK hynix had raised approximately $26.5 billion through a major U.S. share offering, marking the largest-ever U.S. listing by a foreign company.
