Background

Amid growing geopolitical tensions, disruptions in global supply chains, and a projected surge in demand for critical minerals necessary for the global green energy and digital transitions, nations are increasingly prioritizing the secure and stable supply of these essential resources. This shift has spurred a rising number of multilateral, bilateral, and state-to-state agreements aimed at increasing production, securing access to critical minerals, and addressing the dominance of certain countries in mineral supply chains. Between 2019 and 2023, 43 national critical minerals strategies have been adopted worldwide.

Africa's abundant supply of critical minerals has attracted significant interest from importing countries, prompting many African countries to increasingly engage in bilateral agreements. While these agreements play a crucial role in shaping the future governance of critical minerals in Africa, details about their content, objectives, and even their existence are often not easily accessible to the public. Furthermore, there is a lack of comparative analysis of these partnerships, making it difficult to fully understand their implications.

For this reason, APRI’s Geopolitics Program has developed an interactive map titled “Africa’s Green Mineral Partnerships”. The objective is to shed light on the complex landscape of mineral agreements in Africa through a comprehensive and interactive visualization. The interactive map serves as a primary tool for gaining an initial overview of African partnerships over the last decades and exploring the network of bilateral and multilateral agreements that shape the governance of Africa’s critical minerals sector. The accompanying report complements the map by providing in-depth analysis and contextual details about these agreements, focusing on a selection of countries most active in Africa's green minerals sector. Through this initiative, APRI aims to enhance transparency and provide a clearer understanding of how various countries collaborate with Africa to secure critical mineral supply chains.

The Event

This webinar will officially launch Africa's Green Mineral Partnerships Map and its accompanying report. The webinar will bring together experts to comment on the findings, share experiences from other mapping exercises, and discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding the growing number of agreements to secure critical mineral supply chains in Africa.

It will also focus on how resource diplomacy, international agreements, and government policies are shaping the future of critical mineral supply chains, with insights into how geopolitical contexts influence these developments. The speakers will examine the role of critical raw materials in international cooperation, strategies for securing supply, and the geopolitical drivers behind bilateral partnerships.

Participants joining from different parts of the world will be able to engage in the discussion during a dedicated Q&A session. The event is scheduled to last one and a half hours and will be moderated by Chris Vandome.

The Speakers

Dr. Amandine Gnanguênon
Speaker

Dr. Amandine Gnanguênon is the Senior Fellow and Head of the Geopolitics Program at the APRI - Africa Policy Research Institute.

Dr. James Cust
Speaker

Dr. James Cust is the Chief Economist at Future.Green and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford.

William Davis
Speaker

William Davis is the Economic Advisor at the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development (IGF).

Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan
Moderator

Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan is an Associate Fellow in Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi.