Tinubu to chair Africa minerals summit in New York

President Bola Tinubu, the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) General Assembly, will preside over a high-level summit on critical minerals in New York next month. The Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa is set to take place on September 21, 2026, during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting aims to shift Africa's approach to its mineral wealth from exporting raw materials to processing and manufacturing, thereby adding value and securing a larger share of the economic benefits. The summit, themed "From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition," will gather African leaders, government representatives, global investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organizations, and executives from various sectors.

The summit's theme reflects the increasing global focus on minerals for electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and defense technologies. Africa is rich in resources such as lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese, and rare earth elements. However, the continent has traditionally exported these minerals in raw or minimally processed form, allowing other regions to reap the greater value from refining, manufacturing, and finished products.

The AMSG hopes the New York summit will facilitate a transition from a traditional extract-and-export model to a more integrated mineral value chain, attracting capital and strengthening continental cooperation. The summit will also launch the proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration, which will outline a framework for cooperation on critical minerals, covering policy coordination, investment mobilization, local value addition, supply-chain security, and strengthening Africa's negotiating position in the global minerals economy.

The AMSG's proposed CIEAD Finance Window aims to mobilize capital for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology, and other segments to build competitive value chains within Africa. The initiative seeks to move from policy discussions to concrete investment and implementation structures.