State Minister Koga Visits Republic of South Africa

1. Participating in Mining Indaba 2025

State Minister Koga participated in Mining Indaba 2025 held in Cape Town, South Africa, which is the world's largest exhibition and conference in the mining sector and brings together not only ministerial-level officials from African countries but also government stakeholders, investors, and representatives of resource-related companies from around the world. During the conference, he worked to further strengthen ties between Japan and African countries in the mining sector. Details of the conference are provided in Items 2 and 3 below.

Note: “Indaba” is a Zulu word meaning a “meeting to discuss important issues.”

2. Outline of the keynote speech at the JOGMEC seminar

During his keynote speech, State Minister Koga emphasized that Japan will make use of the specific budget measure for investing in mineral resources in African countries and that it will lead the outcomes to the formulation of new projects for copper and rare metals in Africa. Moreover, he stated that as a reliable partner country that advances honest resource development with African countries, Japan will endeavor to build a win-win relationship with these countries, aiming to contribute to the sustainable industrial development of resource-rich countries.

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3. Meetings with government stakeholders

Taking the opportunity of Mining Indaba 2025, State Minister Koga exchanged views on cooperation in the critical mineral sector with each of six government stakeholders, including ministerial-level officials.

(1) H.E. Mr. Kizito Pakabomba, Minister of Mines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Minister Pakabomba. He requested that the DRC not only establish a public-private meeting to hold discussions on the business environment when Japanese companies successfully achieve mining investment in the DRC, but also that they provide cooperation in Japanese companies’ mineral exploration activities. In addition, the two sides confirmed that Japan and the DRC will enrich the resource exploration cooperation that the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and the DRC have jointly been conducting.

(2) H.E. Mr. Paul C. Kabuswe, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, the Republic of Zambia

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Minister Kabuswe. The two sides confirmed that reflecting Japanese companies’ participation in Zambia’s resource-related projects, Japan and Zambia will accelerate JOGMEC’s resource exploration cooperation, including satellite image analyses, targeting the entire national land of Zambia.

(3) H.E. Mr. Benjamin Gaezo, the Interministerial Representative of Strategic Mineral and Metal Resource Supplies, the French Republic

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Representative Gaezo. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the critical minerals sector, including collaboration in resource diplomacy for critical minerals and the potential for participating in resource projects in Africa.

(4) H.E. Mr. Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, South Africa

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Minister Tau and conveyed his congratulations for South Africa assuming the G20 presidency. Following this, the two sides confirmed the need for a rules-based trade order. They also held discussions on the improvement of the business environment and confirmed that Japan and South Africa will further enrich bilateral ties by taking advantage of certain opportunities, such as TICAD 9 to be held in August 2025.

(5) H.E. Mr. Kgosientsho David Ramokgopa, Minister of Electricity and Energy, South Africa

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Minister Ramokgopa. The two sides shared awareness of the need for energy transition employing diverse pathways tailored to the circumstances of respective countries in order to realize carbon neutrality. In addition, they confirmed that Japan and South Africa will closely collaborate toward convening G20 meetings under South Africa’s presidency. They also exchanged views on the role that hydrogen will play in decarbonization throughout the world and the potential for further bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

(6) H.E. Ms. Phumzile Mgcina, Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resource, South Africa

State Minister Koga held a meeting with Deputy Minister Mgcina. The two sides confirmed the intention of JOGMEC and the Council for Geoscience (CGS) of South Africa to renew the memorandum of cooperation in the mining sector between the organizations. Following this, they exchanged views on challenges to be solved in promoting projects for mining, including the issue of electricity supply. Moreover, they exchanged views on the importance of implementing energy transition by employing diverse pathways tailored to the circumstances of respective countries, bilateral energy cooperation, and collaboration toward G20 meetings in 2025.

Division in Charge

Mineral Resources Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau
International Affairs Division, Commissioner’s Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
Africa Office, Middle East and Africa Division, Trade Policy Bureau