Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi co-chaired a high-level summit of the founding nations of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) on Saturday, utilizing the Mediterranean city of New Alamein to champion a new era of continental self-reliance and private-sector-led growth.
The summit, co-chaired with Angolan President João Lourenço, marked the 25th anniversary of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It brought together leaders from the five founding member states—Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa—alongside Burundian President and current African Union Chairperson Évariste Ndayishimiye, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and AUDA-NEPAD CEO Nardos Bekele-Thomas.
In his opening address, President Al-Sisi emphasized that true development cannot be imported but must be forged by the will, knowledge, and innovation of the continent’s people. “The time has come for Africa to rely more on its own resources and to build and adopt African financing mechanisms,” he stated, describing NEPAD as the indispensable executive arm translating Agenda 2063 into tangible reality.
Al-Sisi highlighted Egypt’s tenure chairing the NEPAD steering committee, noting that Cairo prioritized bridging severe developmental funding gaps. He pointed to the creation of the biennial Alamein Africa Business Forum as a direct initiative to mobilize cross-border investments and support the second ten-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063. Additionally, he noted that Egypt had pushed for the establishment of an African Union development fund under the “Team Africa” initiative to enhance the continent’s collective project execution capabilities.
The Egyptian leader stressed that empowering the African private sector requires governments to build a favorable investment climate through infrastructure development, legislative reform, and political stability.
Co-chairing the summit, Angolan President João Lourenço, who assumed the chairmanship of the AUDA-NEPAD steering committee in February 2026, praised Egypt’s leadership over the past three years. He echoed Al-Sisi’s call for self-reliance, urging member states to provide predictable, voluntary financial contributions to AUDA-NEPAD, noting that Angola had done so the previous year.
Lourenço also highlighted the success of recent continental infrastructure initiatives, such as the Lobito Corridor and the recent Luanda Summit on infrastructure financing, as prime examples of AUDA-NEPAD’s technical capacity. He further announced plans to establish an AUDA-NEPAD presence in Angola to bring the agency closer to its member states.
The summit concluded with the adoption of the “Alamein Declaration,” which reaffirmed NEPAD’s central role as the continent’s premier development agency, elevated the African private sector as a critical driver for growth, and formally welcomed the Alamein Africa Business Forum as a permanent biennial platform.
The first Alamein Africa Forum opened Friday in the northern Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, bringing together around 1,500 African business leaders to discuss investment, trade and economic cooperation. Running from Oct. 2 to 4, the forum aims to promote greater economic integration and business cooperation across the continent. It is co-organized by the Egyptian government, the African Export-Import Bank, and the African Union Development Agency.
