Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King will travel to Japan this weekend for high‑level discussions on energy and resources security, with a particular focus on strengthening cooperation in critical minerals supply chains vital to mining and clean‑energy industries.
The visit coincides with Minister King’s participation in the Indo‑Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum, a meeting co‑hosted by the Japanese and United States governments.
The event will bring together ministers from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Timor‑Leste to address the region’s collective energy and resource challenges.
Minister King’s schedule includes a series of bilateral meetings with her counterparts—US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Investment Ryosei Akazawa, and the Republic of Korea’s Minister for Trade, Industry and Resources Dr Jungkwan Kim.
A major focus of the trip will be the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting with Secretary Burgum, held under the Australia‑United States Critical Minerals Framework signed last October by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Donald Trump.
The framework aims to accelerate new investment and cooperation in the extraction, processing, and supply of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, rare earths and cobalt — resources central to both nations’ manufacturing and clean‑energy sectors.
Australia’s role as a leading supplier of these minerals places it at the heart of international strategies to secure diversified and sustainable supply lines.
The talks in Japan will build on shared ambitions to reduce reliance on single‑source supply chains, promote transparency, and expand downstream processing and recycling capacity across the Indo‑Pacific.
Minister King said the forum provided an important opportunity to address energy and resources security in light of the ongoing disruptions to global markets caused by conflict in the Middle East.
“Australia is committed to resilient and secure energy supply chains that underpin regional stability and economic security,” Minister King said.
“Global supply chains and energy security challenges cannot be solved by any country alone, and forums like this are essential for coordinated action and shared solutions.”
The Indo‑Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum is being co‑hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the US National Energy Dominance Council.
Discussions are expected to highlight investment opportunities, regional cooperation frameworks and private‑sector partnerships aimed at building critical mineral supply resilience.
As global demand for battery and decarbonisation materials continues to surge, cooperation between advanced manufacturing economies and resource producers has become a priority.
Japan and South Korea are among Australia’s most important trading partners for resources used in electric vehicles, renewable infrastructure and advanced technology supply chains.
This will be Minister King’s fifth visit to Japan.
