AES: Ouagadougou hosts the first edition of the Energy, Mining and Hydrocarbons Week

The first edition of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) Energy, Mining and Hydrocarbons Week opened in Ouagadougou, bringing together experts and officials from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to discuss the promotion of their mineral and oil resources, according to the ORTM newscast of September 14. The Malian delegation is led by the Minister of Mines. The discussions aim to transition the three Alliance countries from simple extraction to local processing of their resources, by mastering the entire value chain from exploration to transformation. The harmonization of policies and legal frameworks among the three States, as well as the training of qualified human resources, are among the stated priorities. During their last meeting, AES ministers adopted four structuring documents for the Confederation's energy, mining and oil future, including a framework convention for the exploitation of energy and mineral resources. The officials present noted that the gold and lithium extracted in the region are most often refined abroad, depriving producing countries of the by-products resulting from processing. The identified challenges focus on local energy production, the construction of a regional electrical interconnection network, distribution, and the financing of processing units.