New Delhi, June 30 -- With 21st-century technologies increasingly reliant on critical minerals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming five-nation tour, beginning July 2, is expected to expand India's bilateral cooperation in sectors such as mining, mineral resources, and energy.

At a special briefing ahead of PM Modi's visits to Ghana, Argentina, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Namibia, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Dammu Ravi, spoke about the growing importance of critical minerals for new-age technologies.

"In terms of critical minerals, the new technologies of the 21st century, all of them depend on critical minerals, and we have to be aware of the fact that these technologies of the 21s...