Several Heads of State and Government met this Saturday at the International Congress Centre in New Alamein, Egypt, to participate in the Africa-El Alamein Economic Forum. The opening session was attended by more than twenty Heads of State and Government, including the presidential couple, Their Excellencies Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic, and Mrs Constancia Mangue de Obiang, First Lady.
Early Saturday morning, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, host of the conclave, presided over the solemn opening ceremony of the Africa-El Alamein Forum, now institutionalized as a biennial and permanent event, imposing itself as a continental economic platform and an African Davos for a lasting dialogue between political power and African capital.
New Alamein, a monumental Egyptian project located in Matrouh Governorate, is not just a coastal city. Egypt’s flagship project in Al-Sissi, the first of the 14 fourth-generation cities in Vision 2030, was inaugurated on 1 March 2018 and designed to reduce congestion in the Nile Valley, where 99% of the Egyptian population lives.
With a projected capacity of 3 to 4 million inhabitants and an initial investment of more than 100 billion Egyptian pounds, the city boasts an international seafront of 14 kilometers, inspired by Alexandria’s cornice, comprising a leisure area of 165,000 m2 and 40 commercial spaces, artificial islands and inland lakes. Located in the historic district of El Alamein, the Second World War theatre, it houses an open-air museum, military cemeteries, parks, recreational areas and charming hotels, thus establishing a link between history and modernity.
Faced with an international context marked by geopolitical turbulence, disruptions in supply chains and rising financing costs, President Al-Sissi said that Africa, without being the cause of global crises, is the main victim. He therefore proclaimed the doctrine of self-sufficiency, stating that “Africa must rely on itself, keep its capital at home and stop exporting raw materials to import only poverty ».
He also reaffirmed the principle of the indivisibility of security and development, stressing that no investment can be made without stability. He reiterated Egypt’s unwavering commitment to pacifying the areas of tension in Sudan, Libya, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, considering that peace in Africa is synonymous with peace in Egypt.
This important economic conference, which will take place until 4 October 2026, is co-organized by the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and provides a strategic platform to promote investment, intra-African trade and public-private partnerships among African states, businesses and financial institutions.
The Forum’s programme aims to mobilize innovative investment and financing mechanisms to translate Africa’s development priorities into tangible, sustainable and achievable projects. Strategic areas covered include integrated infrastructure, trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTAAf), sovereign exploitation of critical mineral resources, digital innovation, health and the development of new industries.
The Forum’s mission is to go beyond the mere formulation of priorities for Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area, and translate them into concrete realities: factories, ports, infrastructure, logistics corridors and jobs for young people. In this regard, the establishment of the El Alamein Forum Business Advisory Board was announced, under the auspices of the African private sector, as an implementing body for continental integration.
Equatorial Guinea’s participation in this Forum is of paramount importance, as the national delegation, composed of several companies in addition to the National Bank of Equatorial Guinea (BANGE), will present the investment opportunities of the Economic Diversification Programme and the Horizon 2035 Development Plan, under the visionary direction of His Excellency the President of the Republic.
Text: María Jesús Nsang
Photos : Miguel Ángel Andjimi
(Presidential Press Team)
Equatorial Guinea Information and Press Office.