According to a report, the samples of the rare earth mineral that were shipped to the US were “prepared locally in collaboration with the Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation”. The report says that the shipment includes antimony, copper concentrate, neodymium and praseodymium.
As the bonhomie continues to grow between the United States (US) and Pakistan, Islamabad has shipped its first consignment of rare earth minerals to Washington, according to a media report. The shipment was done as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) of Pakistan and the US Strategic Metals (USSM) in September.ย
Notably, the development comes days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met US President Donald Trump in White House and gave him samples of rare earth minerals.ย
As per a report by Dawn News, the samples of the rare earth mineral that were shipped to the US were “prepared locally in collaboration with the FWO”. The report says that the shipment includes antimony, copper concentrate, neodymium and praseodymium.
USSM welcomes Pakistan’s shipment
The USSM, which is based in Missouri, has welcomed the shipment by Pakistan and described it asย “a milestone in the Pakistan-US strategic partnership”. Lauding the MoU signed with the FWO, the USSM said it will establish “a roadmap for cooperation across the entire mineral value chain from exploration and processing to the establishment of refineries inside Pakistan.”
The shipment “opens an exciting chapter of collaboration between USSM and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation, aimed at expanding trade and deepening friendship between our two countries,” said USSM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) W Hastie, as reported by news agency ANI.ย ย
Imran Khan’s PTI questions MoU between FWO, USSM
However, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s has criticised the MoU between the FWO and the USSM, and has urged the Sharif government to release complete details of the “secret deals” with the Trump administration. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram has called the MoU “reckless, lopsided, and secretive” that can “inflame” the situation in Pakistan.
Urging the government to release complete details of the agreement with the US, Akram said PTI “would never accept agreements struck at the expense of the people and the state’s interests.” Drawing a historic parallel, Akram said the Sharif government needs to learn from the “disastrous consequences of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s 1615 decision to grant trading rights to the British at Surat Port, which ultimately led to colonial control”.
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