Sudan seeks minerals-sector support from Nigeria’s RMRDC

Sudan’s minerals minister, Nour Al-Daim Taha, asked Nigeria’s Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) for technical support and institutional partnership to strengthen Sudan’s minerals sector. In a 22 October report, the council said the request was made during a meeting with RMRDC Director-General Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso at the Sudanese Embassy in Abuja.

Taha said he was interested in drawing on RMRDC’s technical expertise, research capacity, extension services and institutional frameworks. The council said the meeting followed the minister’s participation in the second Africa Raw Materials Summit, held in Abuja on 19–20 October. That summit considered ways to move African raw materials toward local processing and higher-value production.

RMRDC described potential cooperation on minerals development, research and institutional capacity as a main outcome of the meeting. This was not an agreement or a completed project: the source said the parties explored possible cooperation and that the Sudanese minister requested technical assistance. It announced no work plan, budget, responsible team or implementation schedule.

Taha also proposed holding a special Minerals Investment Forum in Sudan in October 2027. According to RMRDC, the minister suggested supporting the forum through a funding facility he would provide, with the aim of attracting investors and stimulating the minerals industry. The meeting report did not explain how the facility would be funded, state its value or say that the forum had been formally confirmed.

The proposed forum would connect investors, policymakers, researchers and industry stakeholders to discuss opportunities in mineral exploration, processing and value addition. The minister also raised research and development links with RMRDC, including knowledge exchange and collaborative research. Interest in adapting aspects of the council’s administrative and institutional practices in Sudan was also discussed.

RMRDC said its experience in raw-material research, development, processing and industrial use could support Sudan’s priorities. The report emphasized shared interest in building bilateral ties through technical cooperation, research partnerships and mineral investment. It announced no specific project, licence, mine site or investor commitment; the reported engagement remains at the request and proposal stage.

RMRDC’s report gives no implementation details for the proposed cooperation. It does not identify which agencies would coordinate technical expertise and research links, how priority minerals would be selected or when joint work might begin. For the proposed October 2027 forum, it also gives no venue, participant target, investment amount or formal approval. These omissions mean the meeting cannot be described as an operational partnership or a financing package.

The council also said the next Africa Raw Materials Summit was scheduled for Kenya in May 2027. That continental gathering is separate from the minister’s proposed national investment forum in Sudan for October 2027. Although the dates are relatively close, the purposes, organizers and scopes are not the same; RMRDC’s report does not say that the Sudan forum proposal is linked to the Kenya summit.

The meeting’s clearest outputs therefore remain two requests for future consideration: technical cooperation and the proposed investment forum.