1. IEA Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit

On Thursday, September 28, 2023, Minister Nishimura attended the IEA Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit. The summit brought together the stakeholders of IEA member countries and other resource-rich countries, international organizations, resource-related companies, and other entities to share the experiences of participants and hold discussions on effective action policies to ensure a rapid and secure energy transition.

Minister Nishimura proposed adding critical minerals as the second pillar of the IEA’s future activities amid the increasing global concern in critical minerals. He also stated that Japan fully intends to actively support the IEA to strengthen its functions. In addition, he shared with participants Japan’s experiences concerning critical minerals, including recycling of critical minerals, development of alternative technologies, and supporting resource rich countries in creating jobs.

Moreover, following the end of the summit, the IEA delivered six key actions to ensure secure, sustainable and reliable supply chains of critical minerals.

• IEA websiteLink

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2. Meetings with participating ministers and executives

Taking the opportunity of the summit, Minister Nishimura exchanged views with 15 of the participants, including each of the participating ministers, the executive director of the IEA, and representatives of companies.

(1) H.E. Mr. GilbertoLink Pichetto Fratin, Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Italy

The two sides confirmed that Japan and Italy will collaborate toward the G7 meeting to be chaired by Italy in 2024.

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(2) Meeting with H.E. Ms. Anna Moskwa, Minister of Climate and Environment, Poland

The two sides exchanged views on building further cooperation and expanding it between companies to achieve the social implementation of hydrogen as well as on expanding discussions to enrich cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

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(3) H.E. Mr. Olivier Rakotomalala, Minister of Mines and Strategic Resources, Madagascar

The two sides agreed to advance cooperation in the field of critical minerals, build mutually beneficial relationships, and develop bilateral relationships in a positive manner.

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(4) H.E. Mr. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, the European Union

The two sides confirmed the progress made in specific areas of cooperation, including collaboration among like-minded countries for enhancing the resilience of supply chains in the field of critical minerals, and the technological development of semiconductors.

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(5) The Hon Madeleine King MP, Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, Australia

The two sides held discussions on such issues as the stable supply of critical minerals, LNG, coal, and other resources, and cooperation in decarbonization in Asia under the Asian Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) concept.

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(6) H.E. Dr. Bang Moon Kyu, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Republic of Korea

The two sides held discussions on the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, including ammonia, hydrogen, LNG, and offshore wind power generation.

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(7) H.E. Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, France

The two sides exchanged views on the enhancement of collaboration in the field of economic security. During this occasion, they also agreed to launch expert-level dialogues to further expand Japan-France policy collaboration.

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(8) H.E. Ms. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition, France

The two sides confirmed bilateral cooperation in fields such as nuclear energy, critical minerals, hydrogen and ammonia.

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(9) H.E. Ms. Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of Energy, the United States

The two sides confirmed collaboration for making crude oil markets stable.

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(10) H.E. Mr. Mark Brown, Prime Minister, Cook Islands

Japan expressed its appreciation to the Cook Islands for showing support for Japan’s discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea. The two sides confirmed that the two countries will continue to collaborate.

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(11) H.E. Mr. Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia

The two sides agreed that ,under the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) concept, Japan and Indonesia will not only develop specific projects for decarbonization in Asia but also continue to advance momentum building for decarbonization between the governments.

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(12) H.E. Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA

The two sides held discussions on such issues as following up task assignments to the IEA at the G7 meeting chaired by Japan, and cooperation toward stabilizing the international crude oil market.

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(13) Mr. Mike Henry, CEO, BHP

The two sides deepened discussions on the feasibility of cooperation with BHP and Japanese companies regarding critical mineral resources, such as nickel, which is necessary for manufacturing storage batteries.

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(14) Mr. Gary Nagle, CEO, Glencore

The two sides, focusing on mineral resources, held discussions on issues such as the feasibility of cooperation between Glencore and Japanese companies, views and current status on resources in Africa, and the stable and low-cost supply of coal.

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(15) Mr. Jakob Stausholm, CEO, Rio Tinto

The two sides discussed the feasibility of cooperation between Rio Tinto and Japanese companies, mainly focusing on mineral resources such as iron ores and aluminum.

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Division in Charge

• International Affairs Division, Commissioner's Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
• Mineral and Natural Resources Division, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
• Nuclear Energy Policy Planning Division, Electricity and Gas Industry Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy