The federal government says the Second Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026) will be a platform to strengthen Africa’s science, technology, and innovation ecosystem.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday ahead of the summit, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, said the platform would also be used to showcase Africa’s raw materials potential.

He said that the development of the continent’s raw materials sector was central to Africa’s overall economic transformation.

He emphasised that ARMS 2026 was designed as an indigenous forum for collaboration, coordination, and sharing of ideas across the continent.

“This summit is about identifying shared challenges, agreeing on practical solutions, reviewing progress, measuring impact, and clearly mapping out the gaps we must collectively address,” he said.

He said that Nigeria was actively building strong partnerships across the continent.

He stated, “We are networking with other African countries so that successful approaches can be replicated, and emerging technologies can be adapted within our African raw materials ecosystem for the benefit of all. One key focus of Nigeria’s presentation will be showcasing the country’s growing achievements in the sector.:

The minister said the federal government’s clear vision was that the country would no longer export its resources merely as raw commodities.

“We are determined to process them right here and export finished products instead,” he said.

He highlighted the urgent need to bridge the gap between research and the marketplace.

“We must ensure that our research outputs are commercialised; the great ideas from in our laboratories should become products that serve our people and our industries,” he added.

The Director-General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nnanyelugo Ike- Muonso, said the summit would highlight Nigeria’s growing role as a hub for innovation-driven resource utilisation.

He said ARMS 2026 was meant to foster partnerships among governments, researchers, industries, and investors.

He noted that the ultimate ambition was to grow local processing capacity, strengthen supply chains and ensure that African countries got value from their natural endowments.

He further said that the objective aligned with the federal government’s broader agenda of economic diversification, self-reliance, and sustainable development. 

(NAN)