Johannesburg [South Africa], November 23 (ANI): In a significant initiative, India, Australia, and Canada on Saturday agreed to enter into a new trilateral technology and innovation partnership - the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who are in Johannesburg for the G20 Summit, met at the G20 venue here.

The initiative will draw on the natural strengths of the three countries and have an emphasis on green energy innovation and building resilient supply chains, including in critical minerals, Ministry of External Affairs said in a release.

'It will deepen their respective ambition and strategic collaboration towards net zero and drive further diversification of supply chains towards a secure, sustainable, and resilient future. The Partnership will also examine the development and mass adoption of artificial intelligence to improve the lives of our citizens,' the release said.

The leaders agreed that officials should convene in the first quarter of 2026 to take the initiative forward.

In his speeches at the G20 Sumit, PM Modi proposed six initiatives including G20 Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative

It aims to strengthen clean energy transitions by boosting recycling, easing supply chain pressures and advancing joint research on critical minerals.

The G20 Declaration also talks of harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development

The Declaration said that the world economy is undergoing significant changes including sustainable transitions, rapid digitisation and industrial innovations, the demand for critical minerals will increase.

'We note that the benefits associated with critical minerals have not been fully realised and producer countries, especially in the developing world, are confronted with challenges of under investment, limited value addition and beneficiation, lack of technologies as well as socio-economic and environmental issues. Therefore, we welcome the G20 Critical Minerals Framework, which is a voluntary, non-binding blueprint to ensure that critical mineral resources become a driver of prosperity and sustainable development,' the Declaration said.

The Framework is designed to respond to the urgent need for international cooperation to secure sustainable, transparent, stable and resilient critical minerals value chains that underpin industrialisation and sustainable development.

It aims to unlock investment in mineral exploration, promote local beneficiation at source, and strengthen governance for sustainable mining practices. It fully preserves the sovereign right of mineral-endowed countries to harness their endowments for inclusive economic growth, while ensuring economic, social and environmental stewardship, conservation, local community participation, and supply security.

Critical minerals should become a catalyst for value-addition and broad-based development, rather than just raw material exports, the Declaration said.

'To secure long term sustainable economic growth, we support increased exploration of critical minerals, particularly in developing countries; promoting diversification of mineral sources, routes, markets, processing locations, and value chains; enhanced value retention and beneficiation in mineral endowed developing countries; and the implementation of robust, non-discriminatory and relevant standards on economic, social and environmental aspects in accordance with national frameworks,' it said.

'We seek to ensure that the value chain of critical minerals can better withstand disruptions whether due to geopolitical tensions, unilateral trade measures inconsistent with WTO Rules, pandemics, or natural disasters and that more producer countries can participate in and benefit from value chains,' it added.

The G20 countries said they encourage the public and private sectors, financial institutions, development partners, investors and local communities to work together to unlock the full potential of critical minerals for the benefit of local populations where these resources are abundant, and to drive sustainable and equitable development, economic growth and prosperity. (ANI)