The Fourth Ministerial Roundtable meeting commenced Tuesday, 14th January in Riyadh as part of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), hosting government representatives from over 140 countries, alongside participants from 50 international organisations and global leaders from the mining industry.
The three-day event, themed “Year of Impact,” aims to reinforce FMF’s global status as a premier platform for fostering collaboration and investment in the minerals sector.
The high-profile, government-led main ministerial roundtable FMF meeting, which is being held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre, seeks to bolster international collaboration in producing critical minerals, essential for the global energy transition.
Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security of the Republic of Sierra Leone, successfully moderated the roundtable meeting on Tuesday.
The former UNIDO expert facilitated discussions leading to the establishment of a collaborative global action on minerals around three key initiatives:
Strategic Framework for Critical Minerals: Developing a collaborative framework in the Super Region of Africa, West, and Central Asia to harness the region’s mineral potential.
Sustainability: Developing responsible supply priorities that reflect local realities in supplier countries and enhance transparency through supply chain certification.
Centres of Excellence: Establishing a network to drive investments, develop human capital, and accelerate technological innovation within the Super Region and supplier countries.
The roundtable conference provided a platform for ministers and senior officials to discuss sustainable development strategies for the mining sector, focusing on positioning mining as a catalyst for economic growth and social progress.
Dr. Yumkella told this writer in an interview that every major industrial economy has established a special unit for critical transition minerals, also known as strategic minerals.
“These minerals are becoming increasingly important due to the rapid pace of the energy revolution and the exponential demand for electric vehicles over the next decade,” he said.
Dr. Yumkella also disclosed that the meeting discussed mechanisms to address issues affecting the mining sector in developing countries, including sustainability, traceability, and transparency.
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Daniel Mattai, joined colleague ministers from Africa, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Brazil as participants of the FMF conference.
In another development, Hon. Dr. Alhaji Kandeh Yumkella also paid a working visit to the Sierra Leone Chancery in Riyadh on Wednesday, accompanied by Ambassador Mohammed S Barrie. The chancery, located on Al-Farouqi Street, Al-Maseef, is currently undergoing massive rehabilitation under Ambassador Barrie’s leadership, who assumed duty on 9 December 2024.
Following the visit, Dr, Yumkella departed for Makkah to perform Umrah.
By Abubakarr Bah, Information Attaché, Saudi Arabia
