The OECD Critical Minerals Initiative brings together the Organisation's expertise across a range of topics including investment, responsible business conduct, trade, taxation, development and the environment to help governments navigate one of the defining policy challenges of the coming decades. To this end, the Initiative provides comparative analysis and a platform for sustained dialogue between mineral-producing and mineral-consuming economies.
Southeast Asia and India represent a rapidly growing strategic hub for critical minerals, yet this growth has brought a set of structural challenges that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth. Among these, the effective governance of critical minerals stands out as a defining opportunity to foster industrial upgrading, deepen regional value chains, and strengthen economic resilience amid an increasingly contested global landscape.
The OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) was launched in 2014 to support the region in strengthening regional integration and advancing more inclusive and sustainable development. The Programme fosters dialogue and cooperation between Southeast Asian countries and the OECD, creating opportunities for peer learning and the dissemination of good policy practices through a range of its networks, programmes, initiatives, and events - including ministerial meetings, regional fora, and expert workshops.
This report builds on two decades of engagement with the region, reflecting the shared commitment between the OECD, Southeast Asian countries, and India towards advancing inclusive growth, sustainable development, and environmental stewardship.
Drawing on internationally comparable data and policy insights, this report highlights the substantial reserves and production capacities that position ASEAN and India as indispensable actors in global critical minerals supply chains, while identifying the persistent challenges that require attention: limited downstream value addition, capacity and financing constraints, environmental and social risks, and a fragmented policy landscape amid intensifying geopolitical competition. The report underscores the importance of building stronger regional governance systems, mobilising investment and skills for value addition, and designing policies that enable the region to enhance the transparency, sustainability, and competitiveness of its critical minerals value chains.