By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has urged other African countries to continue to drive investments in continent’s vast natural resource deposits for sustainable development even as it reiterated its commitment to collaborate with the them in that regard.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), Dr Mary Ogbe stated this during a pre-event briefing by the Diplomatic community held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Headquarters in Abuja on the up-coming Africa Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS-2023) scheduled to hold between 31st October to 2nd November, 2023.
As captured in a statement signed by the head, Press & Public Relations, MMSD, Mr Alaba Balogun, the theme of this year’s AFNIS is: ”Towards a Just Transition”.
During the interactive session with the Diplomatic Corps, the Permanent Secretary explained that through the AFNIS Summit, which is an African knowledge sharing platform initiated by the Nigerian Government, Nigeria will work with fellow African Nations towards sustainable development of Africa’s natural resources through knowledge sharing, investment and trade.
“This forum was initiated to strategise on how Africa can continue to receive investment from its vast mineral resource deposits while also protecting its environment. The Summit thus provides a global platform for Africa to encourage investment in its power, energy (oil and gas) and mining sectors,” Ogbe said.
With preparations for the upcoming 2023 Edition of the African Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit ( AFNIS) in top gear; Dr Ogbe urged African Countries and its Allies to participate in building on the successes recorded during the maiden edition of AFNIS held last year 2022.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, said it was high time Africa gave adequate attention to developing its huge natural and energy resources for the benefit of the African people, adding that “a better Africa can be achieved” with AFNIS.
Speaking, Managing Director, Core-I-Mine and co-founder, AFNIS, Dr. Abubakar Lawal, stated that the theme of the summit is apt as it centres on evolving strategies to address challenges linked to the shift from fossil fuels, with a focus on minimising adverse impacts on economies rooted in these sectors.
To butress his position, he said ” AFNIS 2023’s central objective is to strike a delicate balance in supporting the growth of Africa’s mining and energy sectors and in harnessing fossil fuels for industrialisation, while concurrently aligning with global climate change mitigation efforts”.
The three-day summit will be attended by government officials from African countries, industry experts, academics and business leaders, with an agenda to deliberate on the intricacies of achieving a just transition within the mining and energy domains amongst others.
