Written by: Badr Ahmed

Ambassador Ahmed Sherif, Egypt’s Ambassador to South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho, and its Permanent Representative to the SADC, hosted a large-scale economic event in the South African capital, Pretoria, to promote the first African Business Forum, «Alamein Forum 2026,» scheduled to be held in the new city of Alamein from June 25 to 27, 2026, in addition to reviewing the latest developments in the Egyptian economy.

South Africa is promoting the largest African business forum hosted by Egypt.

The event witnessed high-level participation from representatives of African institutions partnering in organizing the forum, most notably the New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as well as a broad presence from the South African business community, African ambassadors, government officials, and representatives of think tanks and the media.

During his speech, Ambassador Ahmed Sharif reviewed the great economic potential of the African continent, pointing to the promising opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to enhance economic and investment integration among the countries of the continent.

He stressed that the most important challenge is to transform plans and visions into feasible projects, explaining that the «Alamein Forum 2026» aims to provide a platform that brings together governments, financing institutions and the private sector to discuss investment opportunities and development partnerships within Africa.

The Egyptian ambassador called on representatives of the business community and African ambassadors to support and promote the forum in various African countries, in order to contribute to strengthening continental economic cooperation.

For her part, Nardos Bekele Thomas, CEO of NEPAD, stressed that the forum not only aims to exchange visions, but also seeks to build practical investment partnerships between governments, the private sector, and African and international financial institutions.

Rony Ntuli, a member of the board of directors of the African Export-Import Bank and chairman of Thelo Infrastructure Investment Group, also praised the Egyptian development experience, considering that Egypt has provided a model for the ability of African countries to implement world-class infrastructure projects.

He pointed out that the Egyptian approach is based on measuring the actual results of projects on the ground, and not just evaluating announced policies, calling on South African and African companies to take advantage of the investment opportunities that the forum will present.

For his part, Fernando Balderama, the African Development Bank’s investment officer in South Africa, stressed the importance of Egypt’s role in supporting the African investment agenda and promoting economic integration and regional value chains, stressing that Egypt and South Africa represent an important model of regional leadership within the continent.