Analysis – President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s Address at the IATF 2025:
Words and Vision
✍️ BY: Dr. Mohamed Meziane
Minister of Communication
Algiers – September 2025 – Throughout his remarkable inaugural address—already described as historic—delivered at the 4th edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) on Thursday, September 4, at the Abdelatif Rahal International Conference Center in Algiers, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called for a new era of sovereignty and development for the African continent. Before a packed auditorium of participants and guests, including several Heads of State and Government, his advocacy was defined by clarity, consistency, and an approach that was at once inclusive and multidimensional.
The semantics of the presidential discourse leave no room for doubt: Algeria today asserts itself as an indispensable actor in the transformative dynamics of the African continent.
With firm resolve, President Tebboune officially opened the proceedings of this continental event of considerable scope, affirming Algeria’s vision for Africa. He articulated a vision of an Africa that is “strong, united, and prosperous,” self-sufficient in food production, and capable of claiming its rightful place on the world stage. He underscored the need for strengthened cooperation and expressed hope that this fourth edition of the Fair would mark the beginning of a “new momentum” for economic integration.
Bolstering his statements with credible data, the Head of State pointed to the marginal influence of Africa within international financial institutions and its weak share in global trade. He recalled that “Africa’s voting rights within the IMF do not exceed 6.5%—the lowest share worldwide.” Likewise, its share at the World Bank does not exceed 11%, while intra-African trade barely reaches 15%, compared to intra-European trade levels of around 60%. With concern, he warned: “Our greatest fear is that Africa will be among the primary victims of this situation, violently silenced despite its immense potential.”
Addressing Algeria’s guests, President Tebboune clarified that “this gathering is not limited to its commercial dimension; it reflects a broader awareness of the necessity for Africa to become an influential actor in its regional and global environment.” More fundamentally, it poses “the essential question of where Africa stands today in the global economy.”
At the same time, he recalled “the notable progress achieved in recent decades,” citing the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area and Africa’s accession to the G20.
Turning directly to related issues such as irregular migration, President Tebboune offered a clear solution: investment in local development. “Those who want to stop migration must help develop Africa and create opportunities for its youth,” he remarked, denouncing the “injustice” inflicted upon the continent and presenting development as the foremost bulwark against instability and foreign interference.
The values underpinning his message were transparent. When Africa is in one’s very blood, when the connection to this continent is profound, historical, visceral, and unshakable—an attachment that transcends circumstantial considerations and draws upon the very depths of November’s values—then there is neither calculation nor ulterior motive.
With neither animosity nor pretension, but in the noble posture of the worthy heirs of November’s children, the President of the Republic invoked Algeria’s African heritage: its candid initiatives for peace and stability across the continent, and its unwavering commitment to development. He made it unmistakably clear that, for Algeria, Africa lies at the heart of its concerns, and that its economic emancipation is one of its principal struggles. Algeria’s countless initiatives, investments, and projects across diverse fields all aim at complementarity, and ultimately, continental integration.
Among the most prominent joint undertakings are the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, transporting Nigerian gas through Niger to Europe via Algeria; the monumental Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone linking Algeria and Nigeria; and the legendary “Trans-Saharan Highway,” stretching nearly 4,800 km from Algiers to Lagos. There is also the 775 km road linking Tindouf to Zouerate in Mauritania. Additional major infrastructure projects—including rail links to Niger and Mali—are set to open further economic gateways for Algerian operators into African markets. The list is far from exhaustive.
While affirming that “Africa is young, whereas other continents are aging,” the President recalled Algeria’s investment in human capital: “Algeria offers 8,000 scholarships annually to African students” and, since independence, “has trained 65,000 African executives at Algerian universities in advanced fields, including nanotechnology.”
President Tebboune also highlighted the crucial contribution of African youth to the continent’s development, noting that the majority of Africa’s population is young. “This event is organized for the youth,” he declared, stressing that “the young people, who represent 70% of the continent’s population, must play a leading role in building Africa.”
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that “much remains to be done to rectify historical injustices against Africa and to enable the continent to assume its rightful place in the global economy.” He urged African nations to “unite their efforts so that the continent can participate in shaping international economic decisions and emerge from marginalization.”
Moreover, he pointed out that Algeria recently canceled $1.5 billion worth of debt owed by 14 African countries—an act that epitomizes Algeria’s African orientation. The President expressed his conviction that “Africa’s future, in which Algeria firmly believes, rests on the collective capacity of its countries to establish an integrated infrastructure.”
Reviewing the objectives of this major economic event, the President of the Republic addressed participating African leaders, urging them to make this 4th edition of the IATF “a new beginning and a renewed era in which we join hands to march confidently toward a strong, united, and prosperous Africa.”
In the face of misguided criticisms occasionally leveled against Algeria by dubious quarters, this gesture reveals quite the opposite: a country deeply engaged in constructive initiatives for African youth and continental progress. By contributing to the construction of a future where education and equal opportunity are paramount, Algeria defies simplistic judgments and reaffirms its role as a model within the region.
This powerful message, addressed not only to Africa but also to the entire world, reflects Algeria’s ambition to build a more just society where youth occupy a central role. It embodies a profoundly pan-African vision firmly rooted in Algeria’s national values.
📡🌍 | About Dzair Tube Media Group | 🌍📡
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📰 Dzair Tube is a trailblazer in Algerian digital journalism, delivering high-quality content in Arabic, French, and English. With more than 📈 500,000 daily clicks, it ranks among the most influential media platforms in the country.
🏆 Awarded the President of the Republic’s Prize for Professional Journalist in the Electronic Press category (🗓 October 22, 2022), Dzair Tube is widely recognized for its editorial excellence and integrity.
📱 Massive Digital Reach:
🔴 350,000+ YouTube subscribers
🔵 6 million+ followers across Facebook pages
📸 450,000+ Instagram followers
🎥 Operating from state-of-the-art studios, Dzair Tube broadcasts rich and diverse programming, including:
🗞 News | ⚽ Sports | 🎭 Entertainment | 🕌 Religion | 🎨 Culture
🗣️ Featuring interactive talk shows and exclusive interviews with prominent figures from politics, business, arts, and more, Dzair Tube serves as a key platform for public discourse and civic engagement.
📰 Its print sports daily, “Dzair Sport,” enjoys over 50,000 daily downloads via the official website—further cementing the platform’s multimedia leadership.
🎖️ Honored with the Media Leadership Award by the former Minister of Communication, Mohamed Laâgab, and celebrated at the Hilals of the Television awards, Dzair Tube continues to lead with innovation, influence, and impact.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌐 Stay Connected:
🔗 Website: www.dzair-tube.dz
🔗 English: www.dzair-tube.dz/en
📲 Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
