ISLAMABAD: The outgoing US ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday.
Qureshi underscored the importance of longstanding relations with the US and said he looks forward to welcoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Pompeo is scheduled to visit Islamabad in the first week of September to meet with Khan.
Qureshi told Hale “that his interactions with the US leadership would be based on honesty and sincerity so as to develop a sustained partnership in the interest of both countries,” the statement said.
He thanked Hale for his services in Pakistan and congratulated him on in his next assignment as undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department.
“Ambassador Hale thanked the Foreign Minister and said that there was great interest in the Prime Minister’s reform agenda in the United States, a readiness to turn the page, and this was the objective of Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Pakistan,” the statement said.
“Ambassador Hale acknowledged (the) Foreign Minister’s role in shepherding bilateral relations in his earlier tenure and thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the cordiality and cooperation extended to him during his assignment in Pakistan.”
Bajwa thanked Hale for his services in Pakistan and acknowledged his contributions toward bilateral relations, said the Pakistani military’s media wing, adding that Hale thanked Bajwa for the Pakistani Army’s contributions to regional peace and stability.
Outgoing US envoy meets with PM, FM, army chief
Outgoing US envoy meets with PM, FM, army chief
- Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi underscored the importance of longstanding relations with the US and said he looks forward to welcoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Islamabad
- Pompeo is scheduled to visit Islamabad in the first week of September to meet with Khan
At UNSC, Pakistan warns competition for critical minerals could fuel global conflict
- The demand for critical minerals has surged worldwide due to rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies
- Pakistan’s representative says all partnerships in critical minerals sector must be ‘cooperative and not exploitative’ and respect national ownership
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), has warned that intensifying global competition over critical minerals could become a new driver of global conflict, urging stronger international cooperation and equitable access to resources vital for the world’s energy transition.
The warning comes as demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements surges worldwide due to the rapid expansion of electric vehicles, advanced electronics and clean energy technologies, with governments and companies increasingly competing to secure supply chains while raising concerns that this may lead to geopolitical rivalries in the coming years.
Speaking at a Security Council briefing on ‘Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security,’ Ahmad said experience showed that the risks of instability increased where mineral wealth intersected with weak governance, entrenched poverty and external interference.
“Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is essential for development, stability and prosperity. The global transition toward renewable energy, electric mobility, battery storage and digital infrastructure has sharply increased the demand for critical minerals,” he said.
“This upsurge has generated new geopolitical and geo-economic pressures. If not managed responsibly, competition over natural resources can affect supply chains, aggravate tensions, undermine sovereignty and contribute to instability.”
In several conflict-affected settings, he noted, illicit extraction, trafficking networks and opaque financial flows have fueled armed conflict and violence, weakened state institutions and deprived populations of legitimate revenues.
“The scramble for natural resources and its linkage to conflict and instability is therefore not new,” Ahmad told UNSC members at the briefing. “Pakistan believes that natural resources must serve as instruments of economic development and shared prosperity, and not coercion or conflict.”
He urged the world to reaffirm the right of peoples to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, saying all partnerships in the critical minerals sector must be cooperative and not exploitative, respect national ownership, ensure transparent contractual arrangements and align with host countries’ development strategies.
“In order to prevent the exploitation of mineral-producing countries and regions, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings, support their capacity-building for strengthening domestic regulatory institutions, combating illicit financial flows, ensuring environmental safeguards, and promoting equitable benefit-sharing with local communities,” he asked member states.
“Promote equitable participation in global value chains. Developing countries must be enabled to move beyond extraction toward processing, refining and downstream manufacturing. Technology transfer, skills development and responsible investment are essential to avoid perpetuating structural imbalances.”
