natural resources

"It is the perennial problem," said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of natural resources, energy and the environment at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute think tank, and who is based in Calgary, Alberta.

Brazil is pushing the idea of building a prospering economy by sustainably using natural resources, preserving nature to protect the vitality of the land, and developing valuable products including fuels, pharmaceuticals, and foods.

He argued that a tug of war with the West over Russia’s soul was just as fierce as the fight for natural resources.

Despite its vast natural resources, which include gold, diamonds, uranium, cobalt and copper, the DRC ranks among the world's poorest countries.

Located between Russia and China, the vast former Soviet republic rich in natural resources, is trying to balance between its superpower neighbours and the West.