H.E Moses Engadu, Secretary-General AMSG

The Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO) 2026, officially opened by H.E. @WilliamsRuto, sets the stage for positioning Kenya as a premier destination for profitable, impactful and sustainable mining investments.

#AFNIS has evolved into a strategic platform where dialogue is matched with execution & where policy, partnerships, & capital come together to shape Africa’s resource future. As we prepare for #AFNIS26 (5th edition), our focus remains clear: outcomes, investment, & impact.

A small Lenten reflection about joy. The other day a young friend said something to me that I have not stopped thinking about. As we spoke about the Lenten season and the kinds of things people often choose during this time, he said very simply that for Lent he was choosing joy. The words stayed with me because they were not the kind of answer one usually expects to hear during this season. Lent is often spoken of in the language of sacrifice and restraint. People talk about what they are giving up, what they are setting aside, and the disciplines they are trying to keep for the forty days. We were watching a beautiful cultural show where dances from different parts of the country were being performed. One dance followed another, each carrying its own rhythm and story, and as I sat there reflecting on what he had said, I began to notice something quietly present throughout the evening. There was joy all around us. It appeared in the laughter, in the sharing between friends, and in the simple delight of watching culture come alive through music and movement. As the performances came to an end, the audience was invited to dance, and what happened next brought his words back to me with new clarity. He stepped onto the floor and danced with such open and genuine joy that it blessed my heart to watch. It was not the kind of joy that demands attention or performs for others. It was simply the freedom of someone fully present in the moment, receiving the life that was unfolding around him. The longer I reflected on it, the more I began to feel that perhaps he had understood something many of us quietly miss about this season. Lent is not only about what we are laying down. It is also about what, by the grace of God, we are making room to grow within us. In our effort to become more disciplined, more serious, and more attentive to our spiritual lives, it is easy to forget that the work of grace does not only produce restraint. It also produces freedom. It loosens what has become tight within us and gently returns the heart to a deeper kind of life. Perhaps that is why his words have remained with me. To choose joy during Lent is not to escape the work of the season. It may, in fact, be one of the quiet signs that grace is already at work, teaching the heart not only how to let go, but also how to live. Lent has been revealing the human heart to me in small and unexpected ways this year. I will share a few more of these stories in the days ahead.

Nothing prepared me for the grace I experienced at Mass today. It came quietly, in a moment I almost missed. I walked in with my husband the way we always do, with the quiet calm that comes from entering into God’s presence, the same calm that settles over me each time I enter a church. I knew it was International Women’s Day, but the day had not fully settled in my mind. Then the priest began his sermon, and something in his words about women made me suddenly more alert and attentive. Until that moment it had been an ordinary Sunday morning, the familiar rhythm of Mass unfolding as it often does, with families settling into the pews, children shifting quietly beside their parents, and the gentle murmur of greetings fading as the mass began. As the Mass continued, I found myself listening attentively while also becoming more aware of the people around me. My eyes moved slowly across the congregation, and almost without realizing it my attention kept returning to the women seated throughout the church. They were present in every corner of the room, woven naturally into the gathering in ways that felt ordinary at first and yet became more meaningful the longer I allowed myself to notice them. There were young women who still seemed to be discovering the shape of their lives, mothers with children leaning against them while balancing prayer with the quiet vigilance that motherhood requires, and older women whose calm presence carried the quiet dignity that often comes with years lived faithfully through seasons of both joy and difficulty. Some women sat beside friends and exchanged warm greetings before the Mass began, while others slipped quietly into their seats and bowed their heads in prayer without drawing attention to themselves. Most of us did not know one another, yet the longer I sat there observing the congregation, the more it began to feel as though the room was filled with stories that remained mostly hidden from view. Every woman in that church carried a life that the rest of us could not fully see, a life shaped by responsibilities, sacrifices, disappointments, resilience, hope, and perseverance. Toward the end of the mass the priest invited the women to stand so that he could offer a special blessing. As we rose to our feet across the church, something remarkable happened. Standing there among women of different ages and walks of life, I felt what can only be described as a sudden gush of strength moving through the room, as though the blessing was not only spoken over us but shared among us. As I sat down again and reflected on what I had just witnessed, a quiet realization settled gently in my mind. If we could truly hear the full story of every woman seated in that church, we would likely leave that place with a deeper understanding of how much quiet courage moves through the ordinary spaces of our lives. On this International Women’s Day, I left church with renewed admiration for the strength women carry every day. To every woman quietly carrying life, faith, family, work, hope, and perseverance, may you have a blessed International Women’s Day.

I witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Africa Finance Corporation and the Solid Minerals Development Fund to jointly fund three major initiatives, including a $1.3 billion alumina refinery. This means jobs, technology, foreign exchange, and real contribution to our GDP over the long term. The numbers are strong, but what matters more is viability. This is how we grow mining’s real contribution to our economy. We have the minerals. With this partnership, we are putting serious capital behind developing them properly.

Ghana’s move to reform cocoa financing and end raw mineral exports by 2030 underscores a broader continental shift: value addition over raw exports. When processing and financing are anchored at home, resource wealth becomes industry, jobs, and sovereign growth.

Thanks SG Antonio Guterres for the call for Africa to benefit from our critical minerals. Let us start by having a fair pricing system. Also encourage FDI without biting conditions and demands for duty waivers to attract FDI. Call on the world to invest in Africa's energy sector to end energy poverty and stimulate value addition and beneficiation of minerals on the continent. Let us start exporting finished products and not just dig and ship from pit to ports.@engadu @AlakeDele

Leveraging Kenya’s strategic gateway position and infrastructure to drive mobility, unlock mineral value chains, and power seamless regional trade. #MiningIndaba2026

I participated in a high-level intergovernmental summit on the sidelines of Mining Indaba in Cape Town, focused on advancing integration across Africa’s mining sector. The discussions culminated in a broad consensus on key priority areas critical to unlocking Africa’s mineral potential. These included the development of cross-border energy and transport infrastructure, harmonisation of mining policies and regulations, strengthened efforts to curb illegal mining, enhanced transparency of mining cadastres, the creation of predictable and investor-friendly operating environments and innovative financing of regional economic corridors. During the summit, I strongly advocated for African countries to leverage Kenya’s strategic logistical position and well-developed infrastructure as a gateway for improving mobility, value chains and trade in critical minerals within the sub-region and beyond. We also underscored the need for African countries to strengthen the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) as a platform for coordinated policy action and Africa-led mineral development.

Kenya fosters partnerships for shared growth and win-win outcomes.

We held a preparatory meeting ahead of the #FutureMineralsForum Leadership Roundtable on the Lobito Corridor and Africa’s Copperbelt, attended by the @WorldBank and @IFC_org Discussions focused on unlocking capital for major infrastructure.

From our family to yours🙏🏽

Breaking News Negative travel advisory has been lifted today by the British government ! It’s a Christmas miracle!! Uk travellers can now visit QENP and Semuliki! gov.uk/foreign-travel…

On the sidelines of IMC-Morocco 2025, H.E. Moses Engadu, AMSG SG and Chief of Staff, Patrick Mulindwa met with the Minister to discuss next steps in implementing the Africa ESG Framework and strengthening responsible mineral governance. #AMSG #SustainableMining #EnergyTransition

The agreement strengthens cooperation on valuing African minerals through authentication and accreditation, while supporting the rollout of the Africa ESG Framework and Morocco’s OTC Corridor initiative. #AMSG #SustainableMining #EnergyTransition #AfricaDevelopment

At the 2nd International Mining Conference in Marrakech, the launch of the “Marrakech Declaration” marked a major step toward the first common African ESG framework for the mining sector. #AMSG and the @MTEDDMAROC also signed a key cooperation deal. #SustainableMining

Italy remains a key partner in AMSG’s mission to promote responsible mineral development across Africa. AMSG looks forward to deepening this strategic cooperation in the months ahead. #AMSG #Italy #AfricaForward #CriticalMineralsDiplomacy #Partnerships

Discussions focused on strengthening AMSG-Italy cooperation in responsible mineral trade & development, capacity building, technology transfer, and strategic investment; key pillars for advancing Africa’s critical minerals agenda. #CriticalMineralsDiplomacy #AfricaForward

Earlier today, AMSG SG Moses Engadu paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Mauro Massoni, Italy’s Ambassador to Uganda, accompanied by the AMSG Chief of Staff Patrick Mulindwa. #AMSG appreciates the Ambassador’s warm hospitality & constructive engagement. #CriticalMineralsDiplomacy

🇸🇸 Historic Milestone! The Republic of #SouthSudan has officially ratified the #AMSG Charter, reaffirming its commitment to a unified, transparent, and sustainable approach to Africa’s mineral resource governance. #AMSG #SouthSudan #ResponsibleMining #AfricaMinerals