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Secretary Rubio Signs a Critical Minerals Framework MOU with Lithuania, Sep. 17, 2026

September 17, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · 0:03:12

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What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a critical minerals framework Memorandum of Understanding with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys at the Department of State on September 17, 2026. “Secure supply and processing of critical minerals is essential to the 21st century economy,” Rubio said. “It’s essential to our defenses as well.” He noted Lithuania’s standing as a global leader in photonics and its rigorous investment screening, and stated the framework’s working commitment: the two countries will jointly identify priority projects and mobilize government and private-sector financing for them within six months. Budrys called economic security his government’s number-two foreign-policy priority, next to hard security.

Why it matters

A Baltic ally holding the incoming EU Council presidency, in Lithuania’s own framing, signs onto the administration’s critical-minerals architecture — with a six-month clock, stated on camera by the Secretary, for turning the framework into financed projects.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard candidate: a signed critical minerals framework MOU with Lithuania, September 17, 2026, with the six-month project-identification and financing commitment as the Secretary stated it. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary Rubio Participates in a Signing Ceremony with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys” (official upload, embedded above; the Department of State). Remarks as delivered; transcript reviewed in the site’s private research store; full transcript at state.gov.