WASHINGTON: US Exp­ort-Import (Exim) Bank’s chief said the organisation would provide a $1.25 billion loan to Barrick Mining’s Reko Diq mine in Pakistan, as part of a larger plan to invest $100bn to bolster US and allied supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear energy, and natural gas.

The first tranche of deals will include projects in Pakistan, Egypt and Europe, the organisation’s chair John Jovanovic told the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday. He added that the West was over-reliant on supplies that “are no longer fair”.

“We can’t do anything else that we’re trying to do without these underlying critical raw material supply chains being secure, stable and functioning,” Jovanovic was quoted saying.

Jovanovic told FT that the bank has $100bn left to deploy of the $135bn autho­rised by Congress. He said the bank’s early deals would also include a credit insurance guarantee for $4bn of natural gas being delivered to Egypt by New York-based commodities group Hartree Partners.

The Exim Bank did not respond to a request for comment.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2025