Algeria successfully hosted the Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers, bringing together dozens of countries, thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of delegates and visitors to showcase trade and investment opportunities and to push for deeper continental economic integration.
Organized by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union Commission and the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the fair demonstrated Algeria’s capacity to stage a major international event and underscored strong regional engagement. Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah said the event attracted high-level participation from 14 heads of state, six presidential representatives, 41 foreign ministers and delegations from 70 countries, including 49 African nations.
Participation and visitor numbers were significant. The fair hosted 2,148 exhibitors and more than 35,000 delegates, while visitor turnout reached 60,650, creating a broad platform for exchanges among governments, businesses and civil society on trade and investment opportunities across the continent.
In his opening address, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Africa’s future depends on collective efforts to build integrated infrastructure and a favorable investment climate. He positioned Algeria as an active partner in the continent’s development and highlighted the need to mobilize resources to make the AfCFTA an effective instrument for growth.
President Tebboune outlined Algeria’s contribution to regional integration through major projects, including the trans-Saharan highway and a continental fiber-optic initiative. He described plans to extend rail links southward—connecting Adrar to Mali and a line reaching Niger via Tamanrasset—as well as efforts to expand air connections, establish a maritime corridor linking the north and west of Africa, and open branches of Algerian banks across the continent to facilitate trade.
On human capital and financial support, Tebboune noted that Algeria awards 8,000 scholarships annually to young Africans in fields such as mathematics and artificial intelligence and has trained roughly 65,000 African professionals since independence. He also said Algeria has written off approximately $1.5 billion in debt owed by 14 African countries. Looking ahead, he expressed hope that Algerian ports could serve landlocked neighbors, receiving goods for onward overland transport.
The fair concluded with calls for renewed momentum toward a more integrated, prosperous Africa, with organizers and participating leaders urging practical steps to turn AfCFTA commitments into tangible development outcomes.
