President Bola Tinubu will lead a major African initiative aimed at ensuring the continent derives greater economic value from its vast mineral resources swhen 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, alongside the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Tinubu, who chairs the General Assembly of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), will preside over the meeting, which is expected to attract African government leaders, ministers, investors, development finance institutions and representatives of multilateral organisations.

Executives from the mining, technology and logistics sectors are also expected to attend the summit, which is themed, “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition”.

The gathering comes as competition intensifies among major global economies for reliable supplies of minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and defence technologies.

In a statement on Sunday, the AMSG said the meeting would strengthen Africa’s efforts to gain greater control over the development and use of its mineral resources.

It said, “Africa is set to make a major push for greater control over its critical minerals future as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group convenes its Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa in Manhattan, New York, on September 21, 2026, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

“The Roundtable will be chaired by His Excellency Bola Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly, underscoring Africa’s determination to place critical minerals at the centre of the continent’s industrial, economic and geopolitical agenda.”

Africa possesses significant deposits of minerals including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements. Yet, much of the continent’s mineral output has traditionally been exported with little or no processing.

This has meant that countries outside Africa often capture a larger proportion of the economic benefits through refining, manufacturing and the production of finished goods.

The AMSG wants to reverse that trend by encouraging African countries to develop processing and manufacturing capacity and build interconnected mineral value chains across the continent.

“The Roundtable will focus on how African countries can move beyond the traditional extract-and-export model to build integrated mineral value chains, attract transformative capital, strengthen continental cooperation and secure a greater share of the economic value generated from Africa’s mineral resources,” the group said.

The New York summit will also advance the Mutual Assured Development framework introduced earlier in 2026 at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit in Abuja.

Participants are expected to present a proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration, known as CIEAD, aimed at establishing a common framework for cooperation in the critical minerals sector.

The proposed declaration will address policy coordination, investment mobilisation, domestic value addition and supply-chain security, while seeking to improve Africa’s bargaining power in the international minerals market.

A proposed CIEAD Finance Window will form part of the initiative. It is intended to attract funding for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other areas required to establish competitive value chains within Africa.

The AMSG said the objective was to ensure the initiative moved from broad policy commitments to practical investment and implementation.

“Building on the Mutual Assured Development Framework, the New York gathering will mark a transition from strategic dialogue to structural execution,” the group said.

The summit will be convened by the AMSG leadership, including Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake, who chairs its Ministerial Steering Committee, and Secretary-General Moses Michael Engadu.

The Africa Finance Corporation, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and private-sector companies involved in mining, technology, mineral traceability and logistics are also expected to participate.

The AMSG was established in January 2024 by African governments as a continental intergovernmental organisation responsible for coordinating critical minerals policies, aligning investment strategies, strengthening minerals security and improving Africa’s engagement with international partners.

The organisation seeks to strengthen African control over the continent’s mineral resources and ensure that a greater share of the wealth generated from them remains within Africa.