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Saudi Arabia Collaborates with Other Countries to Explore Critical Minerals in the Region

The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources speaking to the audience during the ministerial meeting. (Photo by: Bashir Saleh)
The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources speaking to the audience during the ministerial meeting. (Photo by: Bashir Saleh)
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Saudi Arabia Collaborates with Other Countries to Explore Critical Minerals in the Region

The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources speaking to the audience during the ministerial meeting. (Photo by: Bashir Saleh)
The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources speaking to the audience during the ministerial meeting. (Photo by: Bashir Saleh)

Several ministers underlined the necessity of integrated work to explore the mining wealth in the region, including critical minerals, noting that Saudi Arabia has deployed extensive efforts in localizing and investing in this industry.

A ministerial meeting was held, on the sidelines of the third edition of the Future Minerals Forum, which kicked off on Tuesday in Riyadh under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

Flow of investments

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef said that the sector was facing great challenges represented by the flow of investments, in addition to defining the nature of critical minerals on the one hand, and the means to extract them with high efficiency on the other, as well as economic aspects.

He added that the government aims for the mining sector to become the third pillar of industries, pointing to several achievements in this regard, including the geological survey project. He explained that a recent assessment of mineral resources would be announced during the conference, which exceeds the previously estimated amount of SAR 5 trillion ($1.3 trillion).

The minister noted that the Kingdom, after issuing the new mining investment system, witnessed a great demand from international mining companies to enter the local market.

He stressed that the new system was considered one of the best in the world in terms of transparency and clarity, as well as the speed of issuing necessary licenses and the relevant taxes that are considered the lowest among countries in the world.

Solar energy

In turn, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eng. Tarek El-Mulla, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the African continent was rich in various and critical minerals, pointing to the importance of exploiting these resources to work on transitional and solar energy, batteries and other materials that are necessary to reduce emissions and the use of fossil fuels.

Al-Mulla revealed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with his Saudi counterpart for technical and geological cooperation in potential manufacturing operations using natural resources in both countries, and also with regard to the training, research and studies.

Libyan Minister of Industry and Minerals Ahmed Abu Hisa said that his country was following the industrial revolution in the Kingdom, stressing that Libya aspires to have a share in these investments in the field of manufacturing, innovation, research and geological development.

Supply chains

Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs Eng. Khaled Al-Mudaifer emphasized the possibility to create unprecedented opportunities out of the challenges facing the sector, with the aim to increase investments and build capabilities to meet the growing global demand.

The goal of the ministerial meeting is to support supply chains by focusing on increasing investments and capacity building, he said, stressing the need for integrated work to meet the need for building materials and infrastructure.

“We will build a global framework for minerals in order to set policies and accelerate exploration and extraction operations, as we are on the verge of a new era in the mining sector and metals industry,” Al-Mudaifer told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Future Minerals Forum 2024, which is held on Jan. 10-11, is hosting more than 15,000 participants from 145 countries, and more than 200 speakers, including CEOs of major companies working in the mining industry, the metals and the finance sector.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."