Dr. Marit Kitaw, PhD, is the Interim Director of the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), a specialized agency of the African Union dedicated to harnessing Africa’s mineral resources for sustainable development and structural transformation through the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV). She also serves as on the UN Secretary -General`s Panel on Critical Minerals as the African Union Commission`s representative. Dr. Kitaw was recently appointed to the Mining Indaba 2025 Advisory Board. Previously, Dr. Kitaw worked as an economist at UNECA, where she became a strong advocate for developmental and sustainable mining. She was also Chief Technical Advisor on Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development at UNDP Mozambique, where she actively supported the elaboration of an AMV-aligned minerals policy and strategy, the formulation of a local content policy, and contributed to the environmental governance of the extractive sector. As a founding member of the AMDC when it was a project housed under UNECA, she actively contributed to the development of major implementing tools and became a strong advocate of minerals for sustainable development, through linking the mining sector to other sectors of the economy, through value addition, local content, and sustainable mining, among others. Dr. Kitaw has also held positions at COMESA, the African Development Bank, and the Institute of World Affairs in Washington, DC.