The European Commission announced, on Monday 19 February, the signing of an agreement between the EU and Rwanda on sustainable value chains for critical raw materials. This memorandum of understanding paves the way for a strategic partnership in this field.
The aim is to encourage the sustainable extraction and production of critical raw materials in Rwanda and to strengthen value chains in this sector. This includes enhanced traceability standards and alignment with ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria.
As well as developing Rwanda’s extraction activities, the EU wants to build a strong link with the country to ensure its supply. Rwanda exports a large number of critical minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten, etc.), but does not extract that much on its own soil.
The EU has stepped up the number of partnerships of this kind in recent months, as part of its strategy for critical raw materials and its green transition: it has signed memorandums of understanding with the DRC, Zambia, Namibia, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Greenland, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. It is also due to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on land-based raw materials with Norway in the near future. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)