Algeria and the Intra-African Trade Fair: Towards a New Leadership in the Global South and a Break with Dependency
✍️ BY: Maamar Gani
Algiers – September 2025 – Algeria is currently hosting the latest edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, a landmark event that is emerging as the largest economic and commercial gathering on the African continent. To ensure its success, the Algerian state is mobilizing substantial resources—material, logistical, and human—transforming the fair into a continental event of great distinction. From the deployment of modern infrastructure to meticulously planned organizational and security measures, and from digital platforms facilitating exchanges to parallel programs of forums and workshops, Algeria’s intention is unmistakable: to project itself as a country capable of assuming a leading role in Africa.
Algeria’s Strategic Position in Africa
The choice of Algeria as host is anything but coincidental. It is the natural outcome of its strategic weight as Africa’s largest country by territory and as a pivotal geographic hub linking North to South, and East to West. By organizing this edition, Algeria seeks to translate its ambition of becoming a commercial and developmental bridge, connecting and integrating the continent’s economies.
The fair also provides an opportunity to showcase Algeria’s approach to African integration. At a time when voices across the continent are rising against continued economic dependency on major global powers, Algeria presents itself as a committed actor in the promotion of South–South cooperation, grounded in equality, sovereignty, and mutual interest. The presence of over a thousand companies from across Africa and beyond, alongside numerous chambers of commerce and economic bodies, lends the event a scope far beyond mere trade, affirming its strategic and political importance.
Unprecedented Resources for Success
From the moment Algeria’s role as host is announced, state institutions move in unison to ensure the highest standards of organization. The Exhibition Palace in Algiers—the largest exhibition complex in the Maghreb—is fully mobilized, upgraded, and equipped with vast exhibition spaces fitted with the latest technological tools. Special facilitation measures are introduced for participants, including visa simplifications, direct air connections, and comprehensive services for transport and accommodation.
Security is another cornerstone, as Algeria guarantees a safe environment for thousands of participants at a time when terrorism and organized crime continue to threaten global gatherings. Organizers also provide digital platforms enabling exhibitors and visitors to communicate seamlessly, alongside smart applications allowing for the scheduling of bilateral meetings and real-time engagement in scientific and economic sessions.
These efforts highlight Algeria’s awareness that the success of such an event cannot be measured solely by the number of visitors or the volume of contracts signed, but rather by the capacity to project a renewed image of the country as a leader capable of driving major continental initiatives.
Economic Implications for Algeria
From an economic perspective, the fair constitutes a golden opportunity for Algeria to diversify its export markets beyond the traditional European sphere. Algerian products—from agri-foods and pharmaceuticals to construction materials and petrochemicals—are finding outlets in Africa’s vast and promising markets of over one billion consumers. The bilateral meetings facilitated at the fair are opening the door to direct partnerships between Algerian and African enterprises, circumventing the dominance of foreign intermediaries who have long profited from intra-African trade.
Algeria is also positioning itself as an attractive investment destination for African business leaders, who are able to witness firsthand the scale of its industrial development and infrastructure. From modern highways and major ports—such as the under-construction El Hamdania deep-water port—to planned rail networks connecting Algeria to the Sahel, the country demonstrates its determination not to remain a mere exporter of oil and gas, but to evolve into a regional hub of development and exchange.
A Tool for African Integration
Intra-African trade remains strikingly weak, accounting for barely 15 percent of total exchanges—a figure far below those of Europe or Asia. The causes are well known: inadequate infrastructure, historical dependency on European markets, and burdensome customs and bureaucratic barriers. The fair therefore assumes particular significance as a platform to connect economic actors and dismantle structural obstacles.
The event is not limited to product showcases but aims to construct lasting networks of cooperation and partnerships. This aligns with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—the largest free trade zone in the world in terms of member states. Its success promises to create a unified market of 1.3 billion people, with a combined GDP surpassing 3.4 trillion dollars.
South–South Cooperation and Economic Sovereignty
One of the fair’s most significant dimensions lies in its contribution to consolidating South–South cooperation, independent of the economic hegemony of major powers. Algeria, long a vocal advocate of peoples’ right to self-determination, is now translating its political discourse into concrete economic practices that ensure shared sovereignty and development.
Such fairs and forums, which bring together African nations, are not mere commercial events but practical steps toward building collective economic independence. By hosting this edition, Algeria sends a clear message: the continent can create viable alternatives to dependency, and genuine development will only be achieved through complementarity rather than competition.
Political and Strategic Gains
Beyond the immediate economic outcomes, Algeria’s hosting of the fair significantly strengthens its political standing on the continent. At a time when regional powers such as Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria are vying for leadership roles, Algeria emerges as a reliable actor, backed by a historic legacy of support for liberation movements and a clear vision for continental integration.
The fair provides Algeria with an opportunity to reaffirm its role as a diplomatic and economic force capable of initiating transformative projects, enhancing its image as a trusted partner in building Africa’s future. This may open new horizons in its relations with the African Union and bolster its negotiating power with international partners—from a position of parity rather than subordination.
Towards a Shared African Vision
Ultimately, the Intra-African Trade Fair is far more than a fleeting economic event. It is a strategic step in the long march toward a self-sufficient and more integrated Africa. Algeria’s successful organization of the event demonstrates its readiness to assume a central role in this endeavor, leveraging its geography, resources, and historic capital.
Through the debates, agreements, and partnerships it engenders, the fair consolidates a conviction: the future of Africa depends on its capacity to strengthen internal trade and deepen economic integration. If Algeria, alongside other African nations, continues along this path, the long-cherished dream of a strong and united continent may indeed be realized—founded upon sovereignty, sustainable development, and genuine South–South solidarity.
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