Bishop of Winchester asks about EU Agreement with Rwanda on natural resources

The Bishop of Winchester received the following written answer on 22nd April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Winchester asked 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.

Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab, FCDO): 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.

Hansard