President Tebboune at IATF2025: A Call for Africa’s Voice, Sovereignty, and Global Influence
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – September 2025 – At the inauguration of the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) in Algiers, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune delivered a powerful and uncompromising speech, positioning Algeria not merely as host of a major continental economic gathering, but as a catalyst for Africa’s long-overdue emancipation from marginalization in global decision-making.
Speaking before heads of state, ministers, business leaders, and representatives of regional and international organizations, Tebboune underlined that Algeria is hosting the fair at a moment of extraordinary global turbulence, when the very foundations of the international order are being tested.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented acceleration of events and the exacerbation of threats to the system of international relations,” Tebboune declared. “This system is threatened in its very existence, along with the principles and institutions upon which it rests.”
Africa as the Silenced Victim of Global Upheavals
The Algerian president expressed grave concern that Africa risks once again becoming the main victim of these global disruptions. Despite being a continent endowed with immense wealth, both natural and human, Tebboune stressed that Africa’s voice remains muted and its role underestimated in shaping the new world order.
“We fear that our cherished continent may once again be the first casualty of these upheavals. Its voice is suffocated and its role underestimated in the reconfiguration of global governance, despite the immense potential it holds,” he said.
In this regard, Tebboune emphasized that IATF2025 is more than an economic fair. It is a political and strategic platform through which Africa can assert itself as an integrated and influential force—regionally and globally.
The Paradox of a Rich but Marginalized Continent
President Tebboune punctuated his remarks with stark figures highlighting Africa’s paradoxical position: home to 30 percent of the world’s natural resources and a population of over 1.5 billion, yet marginalized in international economic governance.
He reminded participants that African countries’ collective voting power represents barely 6.5 percent at the IMF and 11 percent at the World Bank, rendering it the least represented region in the world. Even with the symbolic breakthrough of an African heading the World Trade Organization, Tebboune argued, Africa’s effective influence in global decision-making remains minimal.
“The share of Africa in international trade does not exceed 3 percent,” Tebboune stressed, calling this “unacceptably low” given the continent’s demographic and resource endowment.
He further revealed that Africa attracts only $94 billion annually in foreign direct investment—just 6 percent of global flows—placing it last among all regions. Meanwhile, intra-African trade accounts for only 15 percent of total exchanges, a stark contrast to the 60 percent recorded in Europe.
“This lack of internal exchanges is crippling our growth and preventing the creation of jobs for our youth,” he warned.
Infrastructure Deficit and the Cost of Marginalization
President Tebboune drew attention to Africa’s infrastructure deficit, particularly in transport, energy, communications, and financing—estimated at $90 billion per year. This shortfall, he said, effectively deprives Africa of 2 percent of its annual GDP growth.
For the Algerian head of state, this structural gap epitomizes the injustice faced by African economies and underscores the urgent need for mobilizing African-driven solutions rather than reliance on external prescriptions.
A Continent of Youth, Innovation, and Future
President Tebboune counterbalanced his sobering assessment with a note of optimism, underlining Africa’s greatest asset: its youth. Unlike other continents facing demographic decline, Africa stands out as a continent of vitality and innovation.
“Africa represents the future of the world—not only because of its immense natural wealth, but above all because of its young and dynamic population,” he affirmed.
He hailed the ingenuity of African youth, particularly Algerians, who, in his words, “carry no inferiority complex when compared to other continents.” For Tebboune, it is this youthful spirit, combined with innovation and creativity, that must drive Africa’s transformation into a powerful actor on the global stage.
From Diagnosis to Mobilization
Acknowledging the progress made in recent decades—including the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Union’s accession to the G20—Tebboune nonetheless maintained a sober realism.
“The road remains long to correct the injustices committed against Africa,” he said. “Our continent still lacks weight in decision-making and remains marginalized in international economic and financial institutions.”
However, rather than discouragement, Tebboune called for these realities to serve as a catalyst for unity and collective mobilization.
“These challenges must not discourage us. On the contrary, they should inspire us to mobilize our collective efforts to transform Africa’s reality into one of economic success and sustainable development,” he concluded.
President Tebboune: “Algeria has trained 65,000 African executives in complete discretion”
The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, revealed that Algeria grants no fewer than 8,000 scholarships each year to African students.
These scholarships enable young people from across the continent to gain access to centers of excellence in fields such as mathematics, robotics, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, with opportunities spanning 101 universities and university centers throughout the country.
President Tebboune also underscored Algeria’s pride in having trained, “in complete discretion and without seeking recognition, 65,000 African executives.” He emphasized that this initiative, together with the cancellation of $1.5 billion in debt owed by 14 African nations, stands as tangible proof of Algeria’s sincere and quiet commitment to the continent.
Reaffirming Algeria’s determination to continue investing massively in Africa, the Head of State stressed the importance of creating the right conditions for sustainable economic development. He concluded with a call for collective mobilization to transform the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) into a genuine engine of growth — a mechanism, he argued, that would allow Africa to reclaim its rightful place on the international stage, in an environment of peace and security.
By placing such issues at the heart of IATF2025, Algeria under President Tebboune asserts its leadership not only as an organizer of Africa’s largest economic fair but also as a political and moral voice of the Global South. The message is clear: Africa must no longer be content with symbolic recognition—it must claim its rightful place as a decisive force in global governance.
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