African leaders have called for greater mobilisation of the continent’s financial resources and stronger economic ties among African countries, saying the continent has significant untapped capital to finance its own development.
The call was made on Saturday at the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, a three-day gathering bringing together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives, as well as business leaders, bankers and development institutions.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Africa’s private sector remained a major driver of economic growth, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the continent’s gross domestic product.
However, he noted that African businesses remained more closely connected to markets outside the continent than to one another.
“About 85 percent of African private-sector transactions are conducted with companies outside the continent,” Sisi said.
He said the forum was designed to help African businesses identify opportunities within the continent and develop stronger cross-border partnerships.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said although progress had been made in strengthening intra-African trade, the continent still had considerable room for growth.
“In 2024, intra-African trade reached $220 billion, accounting for 14.4 percent of our continent’s trade,” Youssouf told delegates.
Intra-African trade increased by 12.4 per cent in 2024, recovering from a 5.9 per cent contraction recorded the previous year.
Youssouf described the growth as encouraging but said Africa still had substantial untapped potential.
“Africa can do much better,” he said.
The Alamein Africa Forum is expected to become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, with discussions focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.
The summit also reflects Egypt’s growing efforts to strengthen its economic and diplomatic engagement with the rest of Africa after years of focusing heavily on the Middle East and Mediterranean region.
Egypt is seeking to expand its influence as China and Gulf countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates, deepen their economic and political involvement across Africa.
Egyptian officials estimate the country’s investments across Africa at about $14 billion, including its involvement in Tanzania’s $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project.
The summit is also taking place against the backdrop of Egypt’s long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile.
Cairo views the dam as a potential threat to its water supply and has called for a binding agreement governing its operation.
Ethiopia, which inaugurated the dam last year, maintains that the project is essential to its economic development and electricity generation.
The discussions at the forum are expected to centre on ways of mobilising African capital, expanding intra-African investment and strengthening economic cooperation to reduce the continent’s dependence on external financing.
