24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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Dear EITI supporters,

In this newsletter, you can read about decisions taken by the EITI Board on progressin Cameroon, Colombia, Madagascar, Republic of Congo, São Tome and Principe andUkraine. Colombia was assessed as the first country in the Americas to have met allthe requirements of the EITI Standard. In the Ukraine, the EITI has served as anentry point for in-depth reforms. Madagascar received praise for their disclosure oflicense allocations and subnational transfers in the mining sector. You will also find anews story on our most recent member country - the Netherlands.

The 40th EITI Board meeting took place in Berlin 28-29 June. The meeting startedwith a close look at how the EITI contributed towards policy reforms in the DRCongo and Nigeria. In the sidelines of the Board meeting, there were meetings onartisanal and small-scale mining, state-owned enterprises, beneficial ownership andcontract transparency. The speech EITI Chair Fredrik Reinfeldt gave at the sessionabout contract transparency is found in this newsletter. Simone Niven, EITI Boardmember and Group Executive of Corporate Relations at Rio Tinto also speaks aboutwhy they support contract transparency.

This newsletter provides some highlights from these meetings and discussions. Visitour YouTube account to see a video of Board meeting highlights. For photos from theBoard meeting, visit our Flickr account.

Kind regards,

EITI International Secretariat

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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The Netherlands joins the EITI

Netherlands delegation together with the EITI Chair: Omer van Renterghem, NL-EITI MSG member,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Wepke Kingma, Dutch ambassador in Berlin; Fredrik Reinfeldt, Chairman

EITI; Geesje van Niejenhuis, Coordinator NL-EITI and Dirk Jan Koch, Chairman NL-EITI.

The EITI Board approved the Netherlands’ application to join the EITI at its meetingin Berlin. The Netherlands has been closely involved with the EITI since itsinception, and has now made the transition to being both a ‘supporting’ and‘implementing’ country. The Netherlands’ admission to the EITI is timely, as it faceschanging circumstances in its gas sector. The Groningen gas field in the north-eastwas discovered in 1959, and is one of the largest gas fields in the world.

Read more.

Validation of EITI countriesCameroon - meaningful progress

The EITI Board declared in Berlin thatCameroon has demonstratedmeaningful progress in implementingthe EITI Standard. The Boardcongratulated Cameroon on its

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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achievement, noting that the EITI hasbrought valuable information to thepublic domain, including throughpublications of its national oilcompany, SNH.

Read more.

Colombia - satisfactory progress Colombia was assessed as the first

country in the Americas to meet all therequirements of the EITI Standard. The Board found that Colombia haddemonstrated satisfactory progress inall requirements of the EITI Standard.

Read more.

Madagascar - meaningful progress It was announced that Madagascar has

made meaningful progress overall inimplementing the EITI Standard. EITIMadagascar has had a significantimpact on the governance of theextractive sector and overcome fundingand capacity challenges.

Read more.

Republic of Congo - meaningfulprogress

The Republic of Congo has mademeaningful progress in implementingthe 2016 EITI Standard. The Boardnoted challenges related to space forcivil society and encouraged allstakeholders to work together toimprove and preserve the spacedialogue and informed public debate.

Read more.

São Tome and Principe - meaningfulprogress

São Tome and Principe underwenttheir second Validation and wasassessed as having made meaningfulprogress in meeting the EITI Standard.The EITI Board acknowledged the

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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significant efforts of STP in addressingits corrective actions raised from thefirst Validation.

Read more.

Ukraine - meaningful progress The EITI Board highlighted how the

Government of Ukraine and the multi-stakeholder group have made progress“in strengthening the governance of theextractive industries by providingtimely and publicly accessibleinformation on the revenues frommining, oil and gas" and decided thatUkraine has made meaningful progressoverall in implementing the EITIStandard.

Read more.

Contract transparencyIn many countries, contract transparency is critical to ensure that stakeholders cansee how they should be benefitting from the extractive industries. The EITI has in thepast months highlighted examples of contract transparency in the extractive sector.

Q&A with Rio Tinto Mining giant Rio Tinto was the first

major mining companyto announce that they will support thepublic disclosure by countries of theirmining contracts and licenses. SimoneNiven, EITI Board member and GroupExecutive, Corporate Relations at RioTinto explains the thinking behind thedecision in this blog.

Read more.

Address by Fredrik Reinfeldt At the contract transparency side event

in Berlin, EITI Chair Fredrik Reinfeldtgave an address on the EITI's work

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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with this issue. You can read the fulladdress on our website.

Read more.

Implementation 'deep dive'

Nigeria Executive Secretary of Nigeria EITI

Waziri Adio showed how the previouslyopaque extractive sector has beensubject to reforms after implementingthe EITI. See the full presentation onthe event page.

Democratic Republic of the Congo EITI Africa Director Bady Baldé gave a

presentation on EITI implementationin the DRC, where the EITI has broughtclarity to a fragmented fiscal regime.Find his presentation on the eventpage.

Highlights from the 40th EITI Board meeting

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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Press play and get a glimpse of the EITI Board meeting in Berlin. Agenda,presentations, news items and blogs can be found on eiti.org/event/40th-board-

meeting.

Blog day 1 On 27 June 2018, the day before

the 40th EITI Board meeting, friends,supporters and Board members of theEITI International met in Berlin toparticipate in a series of side meetings;one on the social and environmentalimpact of the EITI process, aroundtable on technical assistancerequirements facing EITI countriesand a meeting on “civil society andshrinking spaces”.

Read the blog here.

Blog day 2 EITI Board members and around 150

stakeholders gathered in Berlin for the40th EITI Board meeting to discussprogress made by the EITIimplementing countries, civic space toadvocate on extractives governance,contract transparency and conflictminerals. The Board also took a deeperlook at two major oil, gas and miningcountries.

Read the blog here.

Blog day 3 The last day of the Board meeting

24/10/2018 EITI Newsletter: July 2018

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included Validation decisions, review ofthe expectations for EITI supportingcompanies and discussions on howgrievances under the EITI should beaddressed.

Read the blog here.