Secretary Rubio and Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna held their first bilateral meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 2026, during which they discussed US investment in Chile's critical minerals sector, the State Department said in a readout attributed to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
Minerals and AI supply chains
Rubio and Pérez Mackenna discussed opportunities to advance US investment in Chile's critical minerals sector, according to the State Department. The two officials also addressed ways to counter adversarial influence in critical infrastructure. Rubio welcomed Chile's recent signing of the Pax Silica Declaration, an initiative under which both sides committed to deepen cooperation on AI supply chain security, the readout said. The department gave no dollar figure, timeline, or list of specific minerals in its account of the talks.
Regional security and Bolivia
The two leaders also discussed regional security cooperation, including efforts to combat mass and illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations, the State Department said. Rubio and Pérez Mackenna reaffirmed their commitment to support democratic governance in the Western Hemisphere, including in Bolivia, according to the readout.
What the deal could mean
The term 'critical minerals' refers to minerals governments classify as strategically important to energy, defense, and technology supply chains. How Washington and Santiago follow through matters for global markets that track those supply chains, though the State Department disclosed no dollar figure, timeline, or list of specific minerals in its account of the meeting, and the Pax Silica Declaration's own scope was described only through the AI supply chain security commitment.
