MINISTRY OF FOREIGN TRADE LAUNCH OF THE ‘MINERALS ESSENTIAL TO THE ENERGY TRANSITION IN THE DRC’ PROJECT – METE: RAPID ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL FOR DIVERSIFICATION AND VALUE CREATION
With technical support from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and financial support from the Japanese Government, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now committed to processing its strategic minerals locally in order to derive the full benefit from them.
On Friday 6 November 2026 in Kinshasa, the Minister for Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya, launched the project ‘Essential Minerals for the Energy Transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’ (METE: Rapid Development of Diversification and Value Creation Potential).
This project will help the country identify new products and develop value chains, thereby creating greater wealth and more jobs.
On behalf of the Congolese Government, the Minister for Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya, welcomed this strategic partnership, as it will enable the DRC to add value to its strategic minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium and manganese, and to establish a Strategic Information Portal.
Sharing his experience of implementing this project in Zambia, Madagascar and Namibia, Clovis Freire Junior, an expert at UNCTAD, stated that his organisation would shortly be launching a training programme for experts from the DRC
For her part, Hotta Yuko, Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Japanese Embassy in the DRC, gave assurances regarding Japan’s financial support
It should be noted that the Minister for Water Resources and Electricity, Aimé Molendo Sakombi, experts from various ministries and representatives from the private sector took part in this ceremony.
