International Newspaper: The African Trade Fair as Tebboune’s Means to Conceal His Political and Economic Failures
As the Algerian authorities promote the fourth edition of the African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) as a massive economic conference drawing over 35,000 visitors and 2,000 companies from 80 countries, the newspaper Sahel-Intelligence, specializing in security affairs in the Sahel region, revealed that the event has become a tool for polishing the image of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune personally, rather than a real platform for economic growth or African integration.
The newspaper explained that, under the pressure of General Said Chengriha, Tebboune has exploited the fair to mask his regime’s failures before the international public, while Algeria grapples with severe economic crises characterized by an almost total reliance on oil and gas, a lack of any real diversification, alongside the deterioration of the social situation, political repression, and brain drain.
According to Sahel-Intelligence, the attendance of certain African presidents, such as Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and former President Mohamedou Issoufou, is nothing more than window diplomacy, aimed at portraying Algeria as a driving force for African integration, while the country’s economic and social reality shows the regime’s failure to manage internal challenges.
The newspaper confirmed that the fair does not represent any real economic transformation; instead, it is a clear attempt to polish Tebboune’s international image and distract public opinion from the daily crises faced by Algerians, making IATF 2025 more of a political propaganda operation than an economic event.
