Written question asked by Bishop of Winchester (Bishops (affiliation)) on Monday, 31 March 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 April 2025. It was answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour) on Monday, 14 April 2025 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Rwanda: Natural Resources

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with the European Union about the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains that the EU signed with the government of Rwanda on 19 February 2024.

Answer: The UK has discussed the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains with the EU at official level. Illicit mining remains a problem and supports the business models of armed groups. As well as being a barrier to economic growth, this has appalling humanitarian consequences. The UK supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which aims to improve transparency and governance in the mining sector. This is an issue that the UK regularly raises in multilateral fora.

Secondary information