DRC – Mining Week: EU supports operationalization of partnership on strategic minerals

Kinshasa, June 11^th, 2025 (CPA).-The operationalization of the partnership on strategic minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo was announced on Tuesday by the European Union (EU) as one of the topics to be addressed at the 20th edition of ‘DRC Mining Week’, scheduled for June 11^th to 13^th, 2025 in Lubumbashi, the provincial capital of Haut-Katanga (in the south-east of the country), according to a press release read by CPA.  « This edition of Mining Week will be an opportunity for Team Europe to make progress on the operationalization of the EU-DRC strategic partnership on critical and strategic raw material value chains, signed in Brussels in October 2023 and whose Roadmap was adopted in December 2024, » has stated Mr Nicolas Berlanga, EU Ambassador to DRC, quoted in the press release.  According to the source, following the adoption of the roadmap in Brussels, the EU, together with its Member States, the European private sector and in partnership with the Congolese authorities, has developed a number of cooperation and investment projects that will support the creation of a sustainable and responsible local value chain. At Lubumbashi, the European delegation will organise a series of discussions focusing in particular on governance of the mining sector, energy, infrastructure, investment opportunities for the private sector, the development of a sustainable and responsible artisanal sector, and certification of trades and vocational training, has reported the press release. The source has pacified that a high-level networking business lunch will also be organised by the EU on the theme: ‘creating added value in DRC: unlocking opportunities through a forward-looking EU-DRC partnership’. This event will be an opportunity to discuss. Investment projects that are underway or in preparation and financed through the Global Gateway fund to achieve the objectives of the strategic partnership roadmap, has indicated the document. ‘On the side lines of Mining Week, the European Union is launching a new project as part of its strategic partnership with DRC to combat child labour in artisanal cobalt mines by strengthening the livelihoods of women working in the sector,’  has announced the EU , according to the source. The European delegation includes ambassadors from Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. It also includes delegates from the European Union, embassies and agencies from Germany, Spain, France and Sweden. As last year, Team Europe’s participation will also be marked by the presence of European companies. DRC Mining Week is one of the largest conferences in the African mining industry, it was noted.