President Julius Maada Bio Calls for Creation of a G20–Africa Compact on Critical Minerals at Johannesburg Summit

President Bio urges G20 leaders to adopt a G20–Africa Compact ensuring fairness, value addition, and transparency in critical minerals.

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA, November 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The President of Sierra Leone and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, placed Africa’s critical minerals at the center of the global economic discussion during the 2025 G20 Summit. In a major intervention at the summit in Johannesburg, President Bio proposed the establishment of a G20–Africa Compact on Critical Minerals, describing it as a vital framework to ensure fairness, value addition, and transparency in the global clean-energy transition.

President Bio noted that Africa holds nearly one-third of the world’s critical minerals — resources essential for renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. Sierra Leone, he added, contributes significantly through its iron ore, rutile, bauxite, and diamond reserves. However, he warned that without new mechanisms, African resources may once again fuel global prosperity while African economies receive the least value.

“For far too long, our resources have powered global industries while our nations captured the least value. This generation must break that cycle — and it begins with establishing a G20–Africa Compact anchored in justice,” President Bio said.

His call aligns with the growing consensus that the energy transition must be equitable. For decades, Africa supplied the raw materials that drove global industrialization yet remained on the margins of global value chains. The proposed Compact would promote transparent contracts, attract investment into African-based mineral processing, and ensure revenue models that prioritize 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 real transformation,” he emphasized.

Although the summit’s theme — “Building Our Economy: The Role of Trade, Finance for Development and the Debt Burden” — covered broad economic challenges, President Bio stressed the strategic importance of Africa’s mineral wealth. He argued that the clean-energy future the world seeks cannot be built without Africa, and therefore Africa must be a full partner in shaping and benefiting from that future.

He linked the minerals debate to wider economic pressures, noting that slowing global growth, tighter financial conditions, and rising debt-servicing burdens continue to weigh heavily on low-income economies. He reaffirmed 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 issues, President Bio reminded world leaders that Africa remains disproportionately affected by the climate crisis despite contributing less than four percent of global emissions. He highlighted the realities faced in Sierra Leone — including floods, landslides, and erratic rainfall disrupting agriculture — and renewed his call for a West Africa Climate Adaptation Acceleration Facility focused on food security, clean energy, and coastal protection.

He also underscored the importance of ethical and inclusive governance of artificial intelligence. AI and digital innovation, he said, can accelerate development in Africa — but only if access is fair and global regulatory frameworks do not widen technological inequality.

Concluding his address, President Bio urged G20 leaders to commit to a development compact grounded in fairness and shared prosperity. He emphasized that the proposed G20–Africa Compact on Critical Minerals is not merely an economic initiative but a defining moment to correct historical injustices and secure a just future for the continent.

This intervention follows President Bio’s highly successful visit to the United Nations, after an official visit to Cyprus. During these visits, and with the support of long-time friend of Sierra Leone since 1991, businessman Simon Snaty, together with the President of the Cyprus Cardiology Association, Dr. Petros Agathangelou, steps were taken to advance healthcare, tourism, and hospitality initiatives.

These efforts are expected to significantly enhance preventive medicine through investors with extensive medical expertise, particularly in AI-supported imaging centers where AI-based diagnostic interpretation will strengthen preventive healthcare. This initiative will create new employment opportunities and train local doctors in advanced AI-driven imaging diagnostics.

The investors intend to open the first medical center in Freetown, with additional centers to follow according to national needs.

Through the mediation of businessman Simon Snaty, the President also facilitated the arrival of leading hospitality and tourism investors from Europe, who are expected to launch major tourism-development projects aimed at expanding international tourism in Sierra Leone.

Peter Beckley
State House Media and Communications Unit
info@statehouse.gov.sl

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