LUSAKA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has been selected as one of six initial countries to participate in a new United Nations mechanism aimed at helping resource-rich developing nations build sustainable mineral value chains, according to a government statement Thursday.
The Country Support Mechanism on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, established under the UN Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, seeks to help developing nations maximize economic benefits from their mineral wealth through value addition and industrial capacity building.
Welcoming the initiative, Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe said the mechanism will support the country's strategic transition toward localized processing and industrialization.
"Zambia has been a copper nation for decades, contributing to global industrial development and, increasingly, the clean energy and digital transitions," Haimbe noted in the statement.
He said that Zambia's ambition is not simply to produce more minerals, but to create greater economic value at home through strategic investment, local processing, and job creation.
A just energy transition, the minister added, should safeguard local livelihoods while advancing agricultural transformation, energy security, and broader industrialization.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the six participating nations -- Zambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe -- at the Climate Summit 2026 in New York on Wednesday.
