Kamel Rezig, Minister of Foreign Trade and Export Promotion of Algeria
By Moses Ntandu
Algeria is preparing to host one of Africa’s most significant economic gatherings, the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), which will take place in Algiers from September 4 to 10, 2025. For the country, this isn’t just another event on the calendar—it is a chance to showcase ambition, capability, and a renewed sense of continental purpose.
The preparations have been intense, involving months of planning and consultations, but what stands out is the intent behind the effort. Algeria is not treating the fair as a conventional exhibition where businesses simply exchange contacts and products. Instead, the event is being framed as a turning point—an opportunity to push Africa’s integration agenda forward and make the African Continental Free Trade Area a reality that delivers tangible results for its people.
The timing is significant. Africa’s geopolitical environment is constantly shifting, with new partnerships and priorities reshaping how nations interact with one another. By hosting this trade fair, Algeria is stepping into a leadership role, showing that it has both the will and the capacity to align economic ambition with practical delivery. For Algerian leaders, the fair is as much about projecting the country’s productive potential as it is about signaling its readiness to help chart the continent’s future course.
This ambition is not born in a vacuum. Algeria has long carried a reputation as a country that stands at the crossroads of African destiny. From its early days of independence, it carved out a role as a defender of liberation movements and a vocal advocate of African unity. Its consistent involvement in continental institutions and repeated election to lead African Union bodies reflect a credibility that few other nations can claim. It feels almost fitting, then, that Algiers should once again become the gathering point for a collective African effort—this time, one focused not on political liberation but on economic renewal.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has tied his vision of Algeria’s future closely to this Pan-African legacy. His government’s commitment to IATF 2025 reflects more than political posturing; it represents a broader strategy to diversify the economy, strengthen ties with African partners, and reduce dependency on markets outside the continent. The idea is clear: growth should come from within, powered by Africa’s own capacities and reinforced through deeper trade and cooperation.
Behind the scenes, Algeria has been mobilizing on every front to ensure the event succeeds. Infrastructure, logistics, customs procedures, transportation, accommodation, tourism, and communication are all being carefully coordinated. The government’s guiding principle has been to align every available resource with the nation’s ambition of becoming a central hub for African trade. That determination reflects not only a desire for visibility but also a deeper push to make the fair a catalyst for long-term diversification and economic resilience.
The significance of the event has been recognized well beyond Algeria’s borders. Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has already praised the occasion, noting that September 4 will represent more than a symbolic gathering. For him, and for many others across the continent, the fair embodies Africa’s collective determination to deepen cooperation and move forward with purpose.
For one week, Algiers will take on a role that is both symbolic and practical. It will serve as a reminder of its revolutionary past and as a stage for the continent’s economic future. Experts estimate that Africa’s single market under AfCFTA could be worth more than three trillion dollars, and the fair offers Algeria an opportunity not just to participate in that transformation but to help shape it.
As the date draws near, the mood in Algeria is one of readiness mixed with expectation. The government, the business community, and even ordinary citizens seem to understand the weight of what is at stake. Hosting the fair is more than an exercise in logistics—it is a declaration of intent, a way of saying that Algeria is not only willing to share in Africa’s destiny but also ready to help lead it.
When the doors open in September, Algiers will not simply be a host city. It will stand as a living symbol of the continent’s ambition to build an economic future on its own terms, rooted in solidarity, ambition, and a shared belief in Africa’s capacity to rise.