Future Minerals Forum holds third ministerial roundtable today

The third international mining ministerial meeting will be held today, Jan. 9, in Riyadh at Future Minerals Forum (FMF). The meeting aims to strengthen international cooperation on the production of strategic minerals involved in the energy sector transformation and highlight the potential of mining regions.

The mining ministers and high-level officials will discuss and exchange ideas and experiences to lay the foundations for sustainable development of the mineral industry in the region, build capabilities, and making the mineral industry a major engine for achieving economic and social development. Participants are scheduled to discuss the competition witnessed in the mineral market at the global level.

The meeting witnesses consideration of the steps that have been taken to transform the discussions into practical starting points on the ground through the four main initiatives that were identified in the previous session of the ministerial meeting.

These initiatives included setting principles for establishing an international cooperation framework for strategic minerals, developing regional centers to build capabilities, building environmental and societal frameworks and transparent standards to ensure that the region benefits greatly from the expected growth in the extraction and production of minerals, and establishing centers for manufacturing green metals in the Kingdom and in the region based on harnessing clean energy technologies.

The international ministerial meeting is in response to the vital role of the mining industry in the transition to a sustainable future and creating equitable economic development.

The ministerial representation of 45 ministers indicates FMF achieved, in record time, its position as a leading global platform shaping the mine's future. All countries participating in the meeting aim to secure the future of supply chains for minerals for the purpose of the global transition to clean energy, and to achieve regional economic development in the mining and metals sector. The region extending from Africa to West and Central Asia has promising mining potential and capabilities and is capable of bridging the expected gap in the future demand.

Ministers and high-level government representatives from more than 77 countries will participate in the summit, including members of the G20, countries with distinct mining sectors such as Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, the Republic of Guinea, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In addition, the meeting will be attended by a representative of 13 international organizations, 15 non-governmental organizations, and seven business associations, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the World Bank (WB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

On the other hand, the 10th consultative meeting of Arab ministers concerned with mineral affairs will be held tomorrow, which aims to enhance regional cooperation and coordination between Arab countries in the field of mining, exchange experiences and best practices in mining sector. It also plans to make optimal use of mineral resources, study mining sector’s challenges and develop effective solutions to overcome them.

The meeting targets to develop legislation and policies related to the mining sector to encourage growth and sustainable development.

The international meeting of the leadership of the geological survey will highlight enabling the growth of investment in geological surveying across the greater region covering Africa and West and Central Asia, modernizing digital geological survey data and making it available to stakeholders across this region, and supporting capacity building through the centers of excellence initiative.

The FMF, which will be held from Jan. 10 to 11, will host more than 15,000 participants from 145 countries. More than 200 speakers will participate in various sessions, including senior CEOs of major companies from the mining and finance sector, and over 150 sponsors and exhibitors.

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