Algeria: Algeria hosted the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair from September 4 to 10, 2025, 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 was a resounding success in terms of its excellent organization and its continental and international participation. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank noted that the fair was attended by 14 heads of state, 6 representatives of heads of state, 41 foreign ministers and the participation of 70 countries, including 49 African countries. The number of exhibitors reached 2148 with more than 35000 delegates, providing a broad platform for exchanging trade and investment opportunities between various economic actors. The number of visitors reached 60650 reflecting the importance that economic and popular circles attach to such events.
-President Abdelmadjid Tebboune:
Algeria has a leading role in Africa’s development:
President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, affirmed in his opening speech at the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers that Africa is the future and that Algeria will be an active actor in the effort to meet the continent’s development challenge. He emphasized that the continent’s future depends on the collective ability of its countries to establish an integrated infrastructure.
He pointed to the significant achievements made over the past two decades, most notably the implementation of the African Free Trade Area, but said there is still a long way to go to restore Africa’s rightful place in the global economy. He mentioned to the continent’s marginalization in the global economy, noting that the share of African countries does not exceed 6.5%, the lowest share when it comes to the World Bank.
He also emphasized that Africa remains limited in decision-making at the World Trade Organization (WTO), with its share not exceeding 03% of global trade, a weak figure compared to the one and a half billion people who constitute the continent’s consumer market. He added that intra-African trade remains at around 15%. And that Africa suffers from a deep gap in infrastructure, transportation, energy, and supply, and an annual decline of 2% in its GDP.
In this regard, President Tebboune highlighted Algeria’s contribution to promoting regional and continental economic integration through major structural projects, such as the trans-Saharan highway and the fiber optic project. He also highlighted the strengthening of communication with African countries, such as the railway project, which will reach the doorsteps of sister countries to the south, passing from Adrar to Mali and a line reaching Niger via Tamanrasset. He also discussed the launch of air links with several African countries, a maritime line linking the north and west of the continent, the opening of branches of Algerian banks in various African countries, and the strengthening of intra-African trade.
He stated that Algeria annually provides 8000 scholarships to young Africans to enroll in specializations including mathematics and artificial intelligence, and has contributed to the training of no fewer than 65000 African cadres since its independence. He also noted that it has written off approximately $1.5 billion in debt to 14 African countries. He expressed his hope that Algerian ports would receive African goods in the coming years for countries without ports, and that they would be transported by land.
He emphasized that the future of the African continent depends on the collective capacity of its countries to establish an integrated infrastructure, the importance of creating an investment climate for the benefit of all, and mobilizing energies to transform the African Continental Free Trade Area into an effective tool for development. He concluded his speech by emphasizing the need to make the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair “a new starting point and a renewed era for steady progress toward a strong, united, and prosperous Africa.”
-IATF, a packed program of meetings and exhibitions:
The exhibition was held under the theme “Gateway to New Opportunities.” The exhibition’s activities varied, covering several strategic sectors: agriculture, industry, energy, finance, research and innovation, health, transportation, startups and others. The opening included a panel discussion on development in Africa, chaired by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, with the participation of several heads of state, an interactive session on the African Continental Free Trade Area, with the participation of 10 presidents of states, a trade fair for countries and companies, and the Creative Africa program- Nexus (CANEX), the Trade and Investment Forum, the African Startup Forum, the African Auto Show, and an exhibition dedicated to heritage, arts, literature, tourism, and cultural attractions, country days to showcase trade and investment opportunities and the IATF Diaspora Day, which highlights commercial and cultural ties between Africa and its diaspora.
And the launch of a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) platform for business matchmaking and business exchange, the African Union Youth Startup Support Program to showcase innovative ideas and prototypes, the IATF African Research and Innovation Platform for university students, academics and national researchers to showcase their innovations, and the Network of Semi-Sovereign African Governments to promote trade, investment, educational and cultural exchange at the local level.
-ITAF: Impressive Results, Huge Trade and Investment Contracts:
Algeria concluded the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair on September 10, amid widespread praise for the organization and results. Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the Fair’s Advisory Council, stated that the results are positive. It exceeded all expectations, stressing Algeria’s ability to play the role of an economic and commercial locomotive in the African continent, and that Africa is capable of progressing and strengthening its global position when it works with a unified collective spirit. He praised the role of Algeria and its President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in the success of this major continental economic event.
President of the Afreximbank announced that the value of contracts concluded during this edition reached $48.3 billion, exceeding the projected $44 billion. Algeria accounted for 23.6% of the total, equivalent to $11.4 billion in signed agreements, in addition to $11.6 billion in commitments to be signed later. This brings the total number of deals to $23 billion in different sectors: industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, energy, services, start-ups, public works, cultural industry, transport and others. These results are a clear indication of the strength of Algeria’s production offering and its openness to the continent’s markets.
Within the framework of the activities of the Algerian Agency for International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development, established on February 12, 2020, with a capital of $1 billion to support sister African countries, particularly in the Sahel-Saharan region, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune decided to establish a fund to finance start-ups and innovative youth in Africa.
-Algeria, the gateway to the continent and the locomotive of the African economy:
The Intra-African Trade Fair – ITAF in Algeria provided a valuable opportunity to promote continental trade and economic exchanges, a qualitative step towards achieving the African Free Trade Area – AfCFTA, and implementing economic integration projects. Through this fair, Algeria demonstrated its extensive expertise in organizing international economic events, its vast, advanced, and diverse potential as Africa’s third-largest economy, and its strategic location as a gateway to the continent, positioning it as the locomotive of the African economy and a bridge of cooperation and partnership between the Africa and the world.
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