The government on Tuesday joined a U.S.-led initiative aimed at securing a stable and diversified supply of key minerals used in advanced technologies.

Second vice foreign minister Lee Do-hoon and Yoo Beop-min, the energy ministry's director general for resources industry policy, attended an inaugural gathering for the Minerals Security Partnership(MSP) held in Toronto, Canada.

Along with South Korea, the U.S. and Canada, partner states include Australia, Japan, Britain and other European nations.

Sharing the view that key minerals are crucial to the development of and transition to clean energy, the participants agreed to establish supply chains that are transparent, open, safe and sustainable amid the global fight against climate change.

Lee held separate talks with Jose Fernandez, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment. Both Lee and Fernandez are their respective country's chief envoy for the allies' Senior Economic Dialogue.

The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation in supply chains of key minerals, semiconductors and batteries as agreed between the two sides' leaders in May, while agreeing to enhance coordination in the area of economic security.