Egyptian-African ecnomic conference 1st
The conference aims to advance a unified vision for accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and expanding trade and investment between Egypt and the rest of the continent.
The event coincides with Al-Ahram’s 150th-anniversary celebrations and Africa Industrialisation Week (AIW), a flagship African Union initiative launched in 2018 to promote industrial transformation and strengthen Africa’s position in the global economy.
Several Egyptian and African ministers, senior officials, and economic leaders are expected to attend, including Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, and former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab.
Heads of key economic institutions will also participate, among them the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Conference sessions will address a series of core issues, including infrastructure and investment as the basis for activating continental agreements and accelerating African integration. Discussions will also cover value chains and manufacturing to deepen joint industries and increase value-added production.
Panels will examine financial integration and the creation of shared financial systems to support intra-African trade, as well as the role of economic diplomacy in advancing political and economic cooperation between Egypt and African countries.
Organizers say the conference responds directly to Africa’s exposure to escalating global challenges—including geopolitical instability, resource competition, and development pressures—and reflects President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s call for collective mobilization to achieve a continental renaissance aligned with Egypt’s broader strategy for supporting African integration.
Egypt-Africa trade growth
Egypt’s economic ties with African states continued to expand in 2024, with official figures showing a notable rise in trade volumes, exports, and imports across the continent’s main economic blocs.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), total trade between Egypt and African Union member states reached $9.9 billion in 2024, up from $9.2 billion in 2023, a 7.6 percent increase.
Egyptian exports climbed to $7.8 billion, compared with $7.4 billion the previous year, while imports grew to $2.1 billion from $1.8 billion in 2023.
CAPMAS stated that most exports were concentrated in five countries—Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, and Tunisia—which together accounted for 69.1 percent of Egypt’s total exports to Africa.
On the import side, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa represented 80.7 percent of Egypt’s total imports from the continent.
Trade flows with major African economic groupings showed mixed trends. CAPMAS reported that commerce with the Sahel and Sahara bloc rose to $6.9 billion in 2024, supported by higher exports and a sharp increase in imports.
Trade with COMESA reached $5.9 billion, driven mainly by growing Egyptian exports despite a fall in imports, while trade with Nile Basin countries edged down to $2.9 billion, with both exports and imports registering slight declines or relative stability.
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