The Caspian Policy Center (CPC), in conjunction with Tethys: Trans-Eurasian Gateway, collaborated on a round table on “Mining, Infrastructure Projects and Finance in Türkiye and Middle Corridor Countries” held in Istanbul on 27 September.  

The aim of the roundtable was to explore the opportunities for investment in critical minerals in the region, while teasing out the interlinkages and barriers, explained Leyla Keser-Berber, Chairwoman of Tethys: Trans-Eurasian Gateway. What infrastructure was needed? What were the issues around financing? Were Western governments sufficiently engaged? 

The strategic stars are aligning, noted CPC Advisory Board Member James Sharp, who emphasized that geopolitical tensions, security concerns, and the fight against climate change had - perhaps belatedly - made the West realize that China dominates the production and processing of critical minerals. The growing focus on the Middle Corridor was providing an opportunity for the countries of the region to expand their export routes away from China and Russia. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in particular, he explained, were keen to diversify their economies away from oil and gas. Türkiye itself has an important role to play, Sharp added, including by having joined the Minerals Security Partnership, as well as by its strong links with regional countries. 

Bernd Schaefer (CEO of EIT RawMaterials) reflected on the recent adoption of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act as a key piece of legislation and a signal of EU intent, noting that EIT RawMaterials had been mandated by the European Commission to manage the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). He and other speakers emphasized the need to train and deploy enough new talented miners in the short term. 

A key component of Turkiye’s investment policy on energy and natural resources is in rare earth elements and critical minerals, explained Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ahmed Berat Çonkar. Turkiye has identified the world’s second largest reserves at Eskişehir. 

During discussion in the Mining and Finance session, participants emphasized the strategic importance of securing key raw materials and developing reliable regional supply chains. Western governments are aware of the urgency, signing MOUs on collaboration with countries in the region. However, not all had yet come up with comprehensive strategies that would prioritize and drive action.  

The announcement earlier in the week in New York about the establishment by the Minerals Security Partnership of a finance network was welcomed; although, in general, there was a sense that finance was slow in coming. Some speakers wondered whether governments were doing enough to stimulate investment in mining projects, including through more guarantees. EBRD explained what they were doing and the tests they ran to decide whether public financing was appropriate. At the same time, miners recognized that the constant cost overruns on projects made financiers wary.  

There was plenty of talk about responsible mining practices. On 11 September, the UN had published a document setting out a list of principles "to guide critical energy transition minerals towards equity and justice". Speakers recognized that the mining sector had reputational problems and that engagement and education were key - they had not talked enough to stakeholders. Some had concerns that holding Western companies to very high standards risked opening the door to companies from countries less concerned about the environment; the counterargument offered was that the ESG commitments made by Western manufacturers were actually driving up standards worldwide. 

The session on sustainable infrastructure in the Middle Corridor raised the question of whether the location of infrastructure would drive mining investments, or vice versa. The discussion provided an opportunity to explain the Corridor's current state and the growing momentum behind it and to point to some of the synergies with the mining sector's work. The Azerbaijani trade representative gave a comprehensive overview of achievements, bottlenecks, and growing regional collaboration to iron out tariff practices. CPC Advisory Board Member David Moran talked about improving Georgia’s Poti port and the need to prioritize work on key bottlenecks.  It would also be important to ensure that the Middle Corridor was green.  The forthcoming COP29 in Baku was an opportunity to give this impetus, as well as to showcase the region’s achievements, potential, and challenges. 

While there were no formal conclusions, the overall sense was that: 

• Much of the infrastructure will be built as a public policy priority, while there was less certainty about investment in mining projects. 

• Although Western governments were improving their coordination and financing, there was still a risk that the opportunities in the region would be dominated by Chinese and Russian state-backed companies. For the West, the cost of supporting these mining projects needed to be balanced against the price of not doing so. 

• Given the number of moving parts and interlinkages, it was important to continue this dialogue among miners, financiers, infrastructure specialists, and governments.