• Algeria and Egypt to launch direct Algiers-Alexandria maritime link to boost trade
  
  
• Bilateral trade surpassed $1B in 2024; target set at $5B in coming years
  
  
• Move aligns with AfCFTA goals and broader regional integration initiatives like VIC-MED
  

Algeria and Egypt have agreed to launch a direct maritime link between the ports of Algiers and Alexandria in a move aimed at easing cargo transport and boosting bilateral trade. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Algerian-Egyptian Business Forum, held alongside the 9th session of the Joint Cooperation Committee from November 23 to 26.

Officials from both countries said the new route is part of a broader plan to increase bilateral trade to 5 billion dollars over the next few years. Trade between the two nations is expected to exceed 1 billion dollars this year, after rising 18 percent from 872 million dollars in 2023 to more than 1 billion dollars.

The growth is encouraging both countries to accelerate economic integration efforts within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Egypt, which has been particularly active on this front, aims to grow its intra-African trade by 20 percent by 2029, with a target of 145 billion dollars by 2030.

This momentum was also reflected in last week’s call for expressions of interest for the second phase of the Victoria-Mediterranean (VIC-MED) corridor, a major infrastructure project intended to link East Africa to the Mediterranean by a unified waterway. The initiative is designed to improve logistics connections, reduce transport costs and boost trade across the regions it will serve.

Henoc Dossa