President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi has launched an ambitious move seeking enhanced cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.
During the World Governments Summit, Gen. Ndayishimiye was received by the President of the United Arab Emirates, HE Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“They discussed issues of diplomatic and economic cooperation within a win-win partnership,” Burundi presidency said shortly after.
A highly isolated Burundi with it’s entire western frontier closed off due to frozen relations with Rwanda since 2015 and an ongoing war in DRC, Ndayishimiye badly needs to look beyond the border for new friends.
Burundi is considering securing investments into the country’s critical minerals sector.
Burundi’s critical mineral resources, particularly its rare earth elements, niobium, and tantalum, are positioned to play a significant role in the global energy transition.
These minerals are crucial for the production of renewable energy technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage systems.
Burundi’s rare earths and nickel deposits, still underexplored, have the potential to attract international investment and boost the country’s role in the mineral supply chain.
Alongside gold, tin, and tungsten, these resources offer opportunities for economic growth and diversification, particularly as demand for clean energy technologies continues to rise.
Minerals Blackmail by Belgium
In July last year Burundi Metal Company (BUMECO) Chief executive Gaspard Ngendakumana revealed to President Ndayishimiye something that could expand the country’s wallet.
Gaspard said that just one of the mine’s galleries contains 12.7 million metric tons of ore, worth more than U$50 billion.
According to Thomas Ndacayisaba, a BUMECO shareholder, Belgian colonists sealed a tunnel they had used to mine covertly in what is today Murehe Reserve, which overlaps with BUMECO’s concession. He added it was “filled in and concreted over” when they left, in an attempt to erase traces of the area’s mineral deposits.
Burundi is seeking to improve it’s energy sector, focusing on renewable sources like solar and hydropower to diversify its energy mix.
With this engagement between UAE and the Gitega regime, political experts believe some good deals may be explored under the win-win arrangements.
