Given their strategic importance for global green and digital transitions, Africa’s vast mineral resources are being widely tapped as the key to unlocking the economic and environmental potential of stronger ties between Africa and G20. The project was announced on the sidelines of the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership (GIIP) event at the G20 in India. A UN report published in August highlighted how Africa’s abundance of critical minerals needed for clean energy and next-generation digital technologies paired with growing domestic consumer markets create an opportunity for the continent to become a major player within global supply chains. Seizing the benefits of G20 membership, African countries empowered with advanced manufacturing capacities could help Western countries diversify critical supply chains while fueling local development and bolstering the continent’s own resilience to geopolitical and economic shocks. The AU’s AMV should act as the guiding light for this economic rebirth, given its focus on promoting sustainable mining and tackling the continental ‘resource curse.’
