Delivered By: HE Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability

Madam President, Excellencies, Colleagues,

I thank the Democratic Republic of the Congo for convening this timely debate during its Presidency and His Excellency Mr. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for calling this meeting. I also thank the Secretary-General as well as the Director General of World Trade Organization for their valuable contributions.

Madam President,

Natural resources, when governed responsibly, are among a country’s greatest assets. They can drive economic growth, foster shared prosperity, and contribute meaningfully to international peace and security.

This protentional, however, is too often undermined. The illegal exploitation of natural resources has a long history of fueling instability, and empowering armed groups, terrorists and criminals at the cost of relevant States and their people. As the strategic importance of critical minerals grows, responsible resource governance becomes more important than ever to mitigate these risks while unlocking sustainable development opportunities.

With this, the United Arab Emirates wishes to highlight three considerations.

First, natural-resource governance requires transparent, accountable and effective public administration, governed by the rule of law. Responsible sourcing, traceability and improved access to reliable data can support Sustainable benefits for communities, together with Innovation and digital technologies. International cooperation, whether involving member states or the UN, should prioritize institutional capacity-building, technical assistance and knowledge exchange, in full respect of sovereignty, national ownership and the development priorities identified by producing countries themselves.

Second, responsible investment should create lasting value within producing countries. Producing countries should be supported in moving beyond the extraction and export of raw materials towards domestic processing, industrial development and greater participation across value chains, to ensure sustainable development and shared prosperity. The UAE’s engagement with partner countries is guided by this approach. Across renewable energy, logistics, infrastructure, food security, digital transformation and critical minerals, our partnerships seek to support nationally identified priorities, strengthen local capacity and create long-term economic value.

Third, critical-mineral governance promotes peace, security and sustainable development. The recommendations of the Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, to which I myself have contributed on behalf of the UAE, recognized that resilient mineral value chains depend not only on supply security, but also on effective governance, responsible investment, environmental stewardship, human rights and equitable partnerships. The recent High-Level Meeting on Critical Energy Transition Minerals demonstrated growing momentum to translate these principles into action.

Strengthening governance to preempt resource-driven conflict is more effective – and far less costly – than post-conflict intervention. Effective natural resource governance and strong institutions expand legitimate economic opportunity and mitigate exploitation by armed groups, terrorist groups and criminal networks.

Madam President,

We must build on conversations such as this one and reflect further on mechanisms that enable the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders to safeguard natural resources and secure prosperous economies.

The United Arab Emirates will continue to work constructively with the United Nations, African partners and other Member States to help make natural resources foundations for peace – rather than drivers of conflict.

I thank you, Madam President.