JUBA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from member countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) have called for close cooperation on technology, infrastructure, energy raw materials, and skills to move beyond the export of mineral raw materials.

The three-day ICGLR meeting concluded on Friday, under the theme "A Harmonised Regional Approach for Mineral Value Addition and Cross-Border Trade for the Maximisation of Benefits from Mineral Resources and Promotion of Peace and Stability."

ICGLR Executive Secretary Joao Samuel Caholo said that the mineral markets in the region are primarily volatile and fraught with environmental and social governance issues, while the solution to enhance market competition is through collaborative efforts.

"Mineral exploitation without value addition does not adequately contribute to employment creation, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic development," Caholo said in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He noted that collaboration will help reduce raw material exports and maximize the benefits of minerals by building robust local markets and increasing profits for citizens and tax revenues for governments.

"We need to enhance collaboration with academia, private sector, and research institutions to promote innovations and centers of excellence, which can help to promote bankable projects for our youth," he said.

Moses Michael Engadu, secretary-general of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, called on member states to increase budgetary allocation to the mining and mineral development sector.

"This is often not reflected in our national budgets, but without minerals you cannot have food security because you need fertilizers, without cement you cannot build houses, so I could go on and say that without minerals you cannot power industrialization," Engadu said.

He emphasized the need for comprehensive and integrated systematic explorations, as they are essential in realizing mineral value addition across the continent. "When we have bankable data, we can understand what our mineral wealth is, and we can be able to sit in negotiating tables with a better position," Engadu said.

South Sudan's Minister for Mining Martin Gama Abucha urged governments to prioritize formalizing the business of artisanal miners.

"Today in South Sudan, we have over 100,000 artisanal miners in the gold sector. We produce over 30 tonnes of gold per year from artisanal and small-scale miners, so we should think about how we can support the member states to organize and formalize these artisanal miners," he said.

Timo Olkkonen, head of the European Union delegation in South Sudan, said ICGLR has proven to be a forum for peace and prosperity for all the 12 Great Lakes countries.

"In today's multipolar world characterized by unseen levels of conflict and intense global demand for critical raw materials, there is ever bigger momentum for regional partnerships governed by common interest and mutual trust that allow pursuing ambitious objectives, such as the development of regionally integrated mineral value chains for economic growth," he said.

ICGLR is an inter-governmental organization of 12 member states including Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, the Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Enditem

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