Africa is poised to reclaim control of its resource wealth as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) convenes its Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development.
Scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Manhattan, New York, the strategic gathering will take place on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Centered around the theme “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” the summit aims to pivot the continent away from its historical extract-and-export model toward sustainable, localized industrialization.
Nigerian President and AMSG General Assembly Chairperson Bola Tinubu is expected to lead the roundtable, highlighting Africa’s unified push to integrate critical minerals into its broader economic blueprint.
The discussions will draw a powerful coalition of African Heads of State, government ministers, global investors, development finance executives, and industry leaders spanning mining, technology, processing, and logistics.
High-profile figures including Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and AMSG Secretary-General Moses Micheal Engadu will spearhead the proceedings alongside international multilateral organizations like the Africa Finance Corporation.
The urgency of the summit is underscored by the booming global demand for transition metals such as lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese, and rare earth elements.
These minerals are vital to powering electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and defense systems worldwide.
Despite hosting some of the planet’s largest deposits, Africa has historically missed out on the economic multipliers of domestic processing, a status quo that AMSG aims to dismantle by fostering integrated, continent-wide value chains.
A cornerstone of the New York meeting will be the rollout of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD).
This landmark framework is designed to align continental policies, mobilize strategic investment, fortify supply-chain security, and bolster Africa’s collective bargaining power in the global market.
To back these ambitions, AMSG will formally propose a dedicated CIEAD Finance Window, creating innovative financial pathways to fund crucial infrastructure, technology acquisition, and mineral processing facilities across member states.
The upcoming roundtable will also track the ongoing implementation of the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework, which was originally launched earlier this year at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit in Abuja.
Organizers emphasize that the Manhattan meeting will prioritize actionable, bankable opportunities over mere rhetoric.
By bridging the gap between proactive policymakers and private-sector financiers, the summit seeks to deliver concrete projects that translate raw resource wealth into tangible economic growth, job creation, and technology transfer.
Ultimately, AMSG asserts that the stakes extend far beyond traditional mining, as the global scramble for critical inputs reconfigures geopolitical and economic alliances.
By transitioning from a raw-material provider for foreign industries into a core architect of the new global minerals economy, Africa intends to leverage its natural endowment to power sustainable regional development.
Founded in January 2024, the intergovernmental agency remains steadfast in its mission to unify Africa’s voice and secure its rightful economic future on the world stage.
