At G-20 Summit 2025…….. President Bio Calls For Africa Compact On Critical Minerals
Sierra Leone’s President and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has placed Africa’s critical minerals at the centre of global economic discussions at the G20 Summit 2025. In a powerful intervention in Johannesburg, President Bio proposed the establishment of a G20–Africa Compact on Critical Minerals, calling it an essential framework to ensure fairness, value addition, and transparency in the global clean-energy transition.
President Bio emphasised that Africa holds nearly one-third of the world’s critical minerals, which are indispensable to renewable technologies, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence. Sierra Leone, he noted, contributes significantly through its iron ore, rutile, bauxite and diamond reserves. But he warned that without new mechanisms, history risks repeating itself, with African resources fueling global prosperity while African economies capture the least value.
“For too long, our resources have powered global industries while our nations captured the least value. This generation must break that cycle, starting with a G20–Africa Compact anchored in justice” President Bio said
The President’s call for a compact is rooted in a growing consensus that the global energy transition must be equitable. He noted that for decades, Africa has supplied the raw materials that drive industrialisation elsewhere, while remaining on the margins of global value chains. His proposed compact would promote transparent contracts, attract investment into mineral processing, and ensure fair revenue models that prioritise African development and job creation.
“It is not enough for Africa to supply the minerals. We must process them, refine them, and benefit from them. That is how we create jobs, industries, and transformation.” He emphasised.
Although the Summit’s theme, “Building Our Economy: The Role of Trade, Finance for Development and the Debt Burden”, covered a broad economic agenda, President Bio firmly directed attention to the geopolitical and economic significance of Africa’s mineral wealth. He argued that the clean-energy future the world is pursuing cannot be built without Africa, and therefore Africa must not be excluded from the value derived from that future.
He also linked the conversation on minerals to wider economic challenges. The President highlighted that slowing global growth, tightening financial conditions and rising debt servicing continue to strain low-income economies. He reiterated Sierra Leone’s support for accelerated debt restructuring, expanded Special Drawing Rights through regional development banks, and long-term financing for infrastructure, digital systems and trade.
On climate, President Bio reminded world leaders that Africa remains disproportionately affected despite contributing less than four percent of global emissions. He shared the harsh realities experienced in Sierra Leone, from flooding and landslides to erratic rainfall disrupting agriculture, and repeated his call for a West Africa Climate Adaptation Acceleration Facility to address food security, clean energy and coastal protection.
The President also stressed the importance of ethical, inclusive and equitable governance of artificial intelligence. He noted that AI and digital innovation can accelerate development in Africa, but only if access is fair and global frameworks avoid deepening technological inequality.
Closing his address, President Bio urged G20 leaders to commit to a new development compact anchored in fairness and shared prosperity. He reaffirmed that the proposed G20–Africa Compact on Critical Minerals represents not only an economic opportunity, but a defining moment to correct historical imbalances and secure a just future for the continent.
