RIYADH — The 2nd roundtable meeting of ministers concerned with mining affairs is scheduled to kick off Tuesday on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Conference, organized in Riyadh, between Jan. 10 and 12, 2023, under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The ministerial meeting chaired by Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef will witness a wide international and regional participation of several ministers and high-level officials from 60 countries and the attendance of representatives of 10 regional and international organizations.

The meeting will discuss various urging topics including the region's development, increasing contribution to value chains and supply of critical metals, promoting responsible and sustainable mining and increasing the value of the region's mineral wealth through increased transparency, and developing the region into an integrated green mineral production center.

It will also discuss the development of international cooperation to establish centers of excellence in the region to increase its contribution to the supply of future minerals.

Besides Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Jordan, Australia, Germany, UAE, Angola, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chad, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Algeria, Djibouti, Gabon, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Tunisia are participating.

China, Iraq, Oman, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Zambia, Tajikistan, Zimbabwe Cameroon, Finland, France, Ghana, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Vietnam, South Korea, Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, United Kingdom, Mongolia Austria, India, Japan, Niger, Mauritania, and Nigeria are also participating in the event

More than 10 international organizations, including the World Bank, the UN Industrial Development Organization, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature are also taking part in the event. — SPA