Kenya Invites India to Mine Rare Earth Minerals to Fuel Tech Ambitions

Posted on : Monday , 2nd March 2026

Kenya has officially invited India to start mining its enormous reserves of rare earth minerals, including lithium, as both countries seek to establish the vital supply chains required for the production of semiconductors in the future. Attending the Carnegie India AI Impact Summit, Mary Kerema, Secretary-ICT, Government of Kenya, emphasised that Kenya is prepared to transition from exploration to active cooperation.

She mentioned that the African country is seeking Indian experience to access its natural riches when discussing the possibility of bilateral agreements. We are extending an invitation to India to conduct rare earth mineral mining. This year, we have various agreements with India on our rare earth. Lithium and other rare earth elements are abundant in Kenya. Additionally, we want to work with India on semiconductor production and hope to do business with it soon, Kerema stated.

Rudra Choudhary, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation, explained at the Carnegie India A1 Impact Summit that the hunt for these minerals is a part of a bigger, essential move in the Global South toward diversification. While many nations have these vital resources, he noted, the technical ability to harvest them is still concentrated in a very small number of locations. One of the things this entire workshop has shown us, I believe, is that the global south itself still has a lot to learn.

Critical minerals, in my opinion, are essential. Although many of the essential minerals may be found in some locations, only one region of the world has the technology to extract the majority of them. "We need to figure out how to diversify it," said Choudhary. In order to prevent nations with limited resources from falling behind in the global technological race, Choudhary went into additional detail about the necessity of formal agreements between them.

He underlined how important it is to build these relationships in order to ensure a steady supply of the raw materials required by high-tech enterprises. "In the Global South, we have to kind of work with countries to make sure that we're creating those bilateral pathways by which we can make the compact between extraction and identification of those minerals," he stated. The long-term objectives of India's indigenous semiconductor sector are likewise intimately linked to the drive for mineral extraction.

Building a local chip-making ecosystem is a multi-decade endeavour that calls for patience and consistent investment, according to Choudhary. In actuality, India's semiconductor mission is quite important. This is a lengthy game, so it's not like we'll have an oversupply of chips produced in India tomorrow. We will require it over the next ten, twenty, and thirty years because it is crucial for resiliency. At some point, we need to start making chips in this nation instead of continuously purchasing them. And that's a whole ecosystem of the vendor market. It is surrounded by a whole supply chain that will expand in the future.

Mariano Florentino Cuellar, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, spoke about the larger geopolitical context and pointed out that India is establishing itself as a leader that offers a substitute for the US and China's hegemonic tech ecosystems. He said that a desire for independence in the global IT scene is reflected in India's emphasis on its own infrastructure and distinctive application layers, such as voice-activated technologies.