Egypt will gather more than 20 heads of state and government representatives at the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum, a business summit Cairo is using to reassert itself on a continent where China and the Gulf states have moved to the front.
The organisers say the forum runs from 2 to 4 October in New Alamein, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, alongside the African Union mid-year coordination meeting. A report by Punch, citing AFP, framed the gathering as opening on Friday, and described a three-day event drawing political leaders, bankers and development institutions. The forum’s own organisers list it as a biennial event held under an African Union mandate.
According to Egypt’s deputy foreign minister for African affairs, Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh, the platform is meant to let countries across the continent do business directly with one another. “This is an African platform,” Saleh told AFP, adding that a country in East Africa should be able to sign an agreement with one in West, North or southern Africa through it.
The forum is co-organised by the Egyptian government, the African Export-Import Bank, the African Union and AUDA-NEPAD, according to the organisers. It covers infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy. The presidents of Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Libya, Senegal, Somalia and South Africa are among those expected, alongside President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who hosts this year’s mid-year summit.
The push reflects a shift in Egypt’s focus. After years oriented towards the Middle East and the Mediterranean, Cairo is working to rebuild influence in Africa as the United Arab Emirates in particular expands its footprint. Officials put Egyptian investment across the continent at about 14 billion dollars, with Tanzania’s 3 billion dollar Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, built by an Egyptian-led consortium, among the flagship ventures.
The numbers behind the summit’s agenda show why the effort matters. Intra-African trade stood at 192 billion dollars in 2023, according to figures Saleh cited, accounting for about 15 per cent of the continent’s total trade. That compares with more than 55 per cent in Asia and over 70 per cent in Europe. The gap is the clearest measure of how little of Africa’s commerce still happens between African countries.
Investment tells a similar story. Africa attracted about 70 billion dollars in foreign direct investment in 2025, a small share of the roughly 1.6 trillion dollars invested globally that year, according to United Nations data. “Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see,” Saleh said.
The forum also convenes against an unresolved dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, valued at about 5 billion dollars. Ethiopia, which inaugurated the dam last year, says it is vital for economic growth. Egypt says it could threaten its share of Nile waters without a binding agreement on how the dam is operated. More than a decade of negotiations has produced no settlement.
Saleh signalled that Cairo’s stance would not soften. “Our position on Egypt’s water security has not changed and will not change,” he said. “It is an existential issue for Egypt.”
For Nigeria and other large African economies, the forum’s stated aim of turning political commitments into deals is the point to watch. Whether the pledges made in New Alamein translate into signed agreements, and whether they narrow the intra-African trade gap the summit was convened to address, will only become clear well after the leaders have left.