President Bola Tinubu is expected to lead a renewed continental effort to ensure Africa gains greater economic value from its vast mineral resources when he chairs a high-level critical minerals summit in New York next month.
The Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Manhattan, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Tinubu, who serves as Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group General Assembly, will preside over the meeting as African governments seek stronger control over resources that are becoming increasingly important to the global economy.
Global Demand Raises Stakes for Africa
The summit comes at a time when major economies are competing to secure reliable supplies of minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and defence technologies.
Africa possesses significant deposits of several minerals at the centre of this global competition, including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements.
Despite this resource base, much of Africa’s mineral wealth has traditionally been exported as raw or only lightly processed materials.
This has meant that countries and companies elsewhere often capture more of the economic value through refining, manufacturing and the production of finished goods.
Shift From Extraction to Value Addition
The AMSG said the New York roundtable would focus on changing the continent’s long-standing extract-and-export model.
Rather than concentrating primarily on mineral extraction, African countries are expected to explore ways to expand domestic processing, manufacturing and infrastructure while developing more integrated mineral value chains.
The organisation said the discussions would examine strategies for attracting transformative investment, improving continental cooperation and ensuring African countries secure a larger portion of the wealth generated from their natural resources.
New Continental Framework Expected
The meeting is also expected to advance the Mutual Assured Development framework introduced earlier this year at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit in Abuja.
A proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration is expected to be unveiled during the New York gathering.
The declaration is intended to establish a broader framework for cooperation on critical minerals, including policy coordination, investment mobilisation, local value addition and supply-chain security.
It could also strengthen Africa’s collective negotiating position as governments and businesses around the world seek long-term access to the continent’s strategic mineral resources.
Proposed Finance Window to Target Investment
One of the central proposals is the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration Finance Window, which is designed to help mobilise funding for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other projects required to establish competitive value chains within Africa.
The initiative reflects an attempt to move beyond declarations and policy discussions by creating mechanisms capable of supporting actual investment and implementation.
The AMSG described the New York meeting as a potential turning point from strategic conversations towards the execution of projects and structures aimed at increasing Africa’s participation in the higher-value stages of the minerals industry.
African Governments and Investors to Participate
The summit is expected to attract a broad group of stakeholders, including African heads of government and senior officials, ministers, global investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and executives from mining, technology and logistics companies.
AMSG leadership will convene the meeting alongside Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who chairs the group’s Ministerial Steering Committee, and AMSG Secretary-General Moses Michael Engadu.
The Africa Finance Corporation, other development finance institutions and private-sector companies involved in mining, technology, mineral traceability and logistics are also expected to participate.
Africa Seeks a Stronger Position in Global Minerals Economy
The push comes as governments increasingly recognise that possessing mineral deposits alone does not guarantee broad-based economic benefits.
For Africa, the challenge is to build the refining capacity, industrial infrastructure, technology, financing and supply-chain networks needed to transform raw resources into higher-value products on the continent.
Greater local processing could create additional industrial activity, investment opportunities and jobs while reducing the extent to which African economies depend on exporting unprocessed commodities.
AMSG Builds on Two Years of Continental Coordination
The Africa Minerals Strategy Group was established in January 2024 by African governments as a continental intergovernmental organisation focused on critical minerals policy, investment coordination, minerals security and engagement with international partners.
Its broader objective is to strengthen African countries’ control over their mineral resources and increase the share of economic value retained within the continent.
The September summit therefore represents a significant test of whether African governments can translate growing global demand for critical minerals into coordinated policies, investment and industrial development.
What’s Next?
The September 21 meeting in New York is expected to provide a platform for African leaders and their international partners to advance the proposed continental declaration and finance mechanism.
The key question will be whether the commitments emerging from the summit can translate into practical projects that expand processing, manufacturing and infrastructure capacity across Africa.
If successfully implemented, the strategy could help the continent move from being primarily a supplier of raw minerals to becoming a more influential participant in the global industries built around them.
Summary
President Bola Tinubu will chair the AMSG’s Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa in Manhattan on September 21, bringing together governments, investors, development institutions and industry leaders.
The summit will focus on reducing Africa’s reliance on exporting raw minerals and increasing local value addition.
Proposals including the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration and its proposed finance window are expected to form part of the next phase of the continent’s critical minerals strategy.
With global demand for lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements continuing to grow, African leaders are seeking to turn the continent’s enormous mineral reserves into a stronger foundation for industrialisation, investment and long-term economic development.
