The Middle East Institute is pleased to invite you to a public, in-person panel on Monday, October 6, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, on “Critical Minerals, the Middle East, and the Future of Global Supply Chains.”
Critical minerals are at the heart of today’s technological revolution. From semiconductors to batteries, wind turbines to data centers, the digital economy depends on secure and sustainable supplies of key inputs. Washington and Beijing are racing to secure these supply chains in order to anchor the AI infrastructure, robotics, and advanced manufacturing systems that will define the next era of global competition. At the same time, Middle Eastern countries are investing heavily in the sector, positioning themselves as reliable partners for Western economies.
How will competition over critical minerals reshape the foundations of the global technology order? What role will the Middle East play in the supply and demand? What are the implications for US foreign policy in the Middle East?
This event will be hosted in-person at the Middle East Institute. If you would like to attend the session, please register using the button above.
Speakers
Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt
Senior Managing Director, Energy and Critical Minerals Practice, McLarty Associates
Dr. Gracelin Baskaran
Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Michael Tubman
Senior Director, Federal Affairs, Lucid
Mohammed Soliman (Moderator)
Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute
Extended Speaker Biographies
Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt is the Senior Managing Director in the Energy and Critical Minerals Practice at McLarty Associates. He previously served as US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources and as US Ambassador to Greece and Ukraine.
Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is the Director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She recently published a policy playbook, Critical Minerals and the Future of the United States Economy, and is now writing a book on an international strategy for critical minerals engagement for the United States.
Michael Tubman is the Senior Director of Federal Affairs at Lucid, where he leads the company’s engagement with US policymakers and regulatory agencies across issues including innovation, technology, trade, and safety.
Mohammed Soliman (Moderator) is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute and a member of McLarty Associates. A trained engineer, he works on policy and business matters at the intersection of technology, trade, and geopolitics in the Middle East and emerging markets. He is the author of the forthcoming book West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East, to be published in February 2026.