Arab News

RIYADH: Deeper collaboration on mining across the region is needed to bolster the burgeoning sector, representatives from 31 countries agreed on Tuesday at a special meeting in Riyadh.

The closed-door meeting on “sustainable future minerals” was part of the ongoing Future Minerals Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in the Saudi capital.

“If the huge untapped potential of our emerging mining super-region from Africa to Central Asia is realized, critical minerals can become a major development driver,” Khalid Al-Mudaifer, vice minister of mining affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, said.

He added: “We hope to establish a common framework and share best practices to ensure the reliable and responsibly sourced supply of critical minerals for the global transition to net-zero.”

Ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, and other neighboring countries were present in the meeting, while high-level delegates from Australia, China, France, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US also attended.

According to a statement from the Forum, discussions centered on the role that metals and minerals could play in the transition to a low-carbon energy future, and the role each country in the region can play in developing sustainable and responsible mineral value chains.

Ministers also discussed opportunities for deeper collaboration across the region.

“The discussions were framed by expert presentations from representatives from the private sector and international organizations,” the statement said.

Ministers, representatives of multilateral organisations and agencies, mining leaders and non-governmental organisations from 31 countries also agreed to a collaborative approach to bring together all stakeholders seeking to find common ground for developing resilient mineral supply chains, and called for a roadmap for progressing multi-stakeholder dialogue on mining and minerals in the region.

A major focus of the discussion was responsible mining, and the global environmental standards surrounding the industry.

“Responsible sourcing is a critical and part of our holistic approach that is supplemented globally by an increase in the recycling and reuse of critical minerals and the improvement of technology,” the Saudi official said.

Delegates from a number of international organizations are also present at the roundtable, including those from the Arab League, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the UN Environment Program, and the World Bank.

The eighth consultative meeting of the Arab Mineral resources Ministers was also held on Tuesday.

Arab ministers discussed the achievements made in the past years, including the establishment of a database for the production of mineral ores across the Arab world, and the creation of geological portals.

Mining has been identified as a key economic activity under the Saudi Vision 2030, an ambitious set of national objectives primarily aimed at reducing the Kingdom’s reliance on oil.

The Future Minerals Forum is seen as a platform for the Saudi government to attract investors after an aggressive exploration strategy that led to the discovery of the Kingdom’s mineral wealth.