Ambitious objectives, disappointing reality: Algeria is struggling to break its oil chains. With only half of the $10 billion in non-hydrocarbon exports targeted for 2023, the country faces a colossal challenge. Between disappointed hopes and urgent reforms, the economic future of Algeria is now at stake. Will she manage to reinvent her model?
Algeria, a major gas power, is struggling to realize its ambitions for economic diversification. Recent figures for non-hydrocarbon exports for the year 2023 demonstrate the scale of the work awaiting the country.
With only $5.07 billion in non-hydrocarbon exports recorded through November 2023, Algeria is far from reaching its ambitious target of $10 billion for the year. This result, although an increase compared to previous years, marks a clear decline compared to the 6.5 billion dollars reached in 2022.
This poor performance highlights the country’s persistent difficulties in placing its products on international markets, despite efforts to promote sectors such as construction materials, reinforcing steel, and ceramics.
A seminar to boost economic diplomacy
Faced with this observation, the Algerian authorities are trying to react. A recent seminar organized in Algiers brought together business council presidents and government representatives to discuss the “role of business councils in boosting economic diplomacy.”
The president of the Algerian-South African Business Council stressed that the objective of the joint business councils “is not only to attract foreign investment but also tends to broaden the horizons and perspectives of operators. Algerian economies and encourage them to compete in foreign markets, develop trade, and achieve a balance in the trade balance.
Among the avenues mentioned, the president of the Algerian-Korean Business Council called for “creating commercial structures in diplomatic representations, to contribute effectively to the promotion and export of Algerian products”.
Rabah Fassih, Director of Promotion and Support for Economic Exchanges at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underlined the importance of making business councils “an effective tool for achieving Algeria’s major economic objectives”, namely the increase in non-hydrocarbon exports, the attraction of foreign investments and the diversification of the economy.
A pretentious target of 30 billion USD in exports
However, there is still a long way to go. The stated objective of $30 billion in non-hydrocarbon exports by 2030 seems very ambitious today. The reforms undertaken are struggling to bear fruit, and the Algerian economy remains 90% dependent on gas and oil sales.
To reverse the trend, experts recommend a comprehensive approach. The recommendations of the seminar notably insisted on “the need to distinguish between the country’s sovereign economic diplomacy and accompanying economic diplomacy, which deals with the activity of business councils and to know the characteristics, assets and the economic capacities of counterpart countries.
Algeria is therefore at a crucial turning point in its economic development. The success of its diversification strategy will condition its ability to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons and create the jobs necessary for its young and growing population.
As the president of the Algerian-Mauritanian Business Council pointed out, “The need of the national economy to increase the volume of exports requires reframing the business councils and regulating their relations with diplomatic representations first. , then with the services responsible for export and investment. The challenge is significant, but the Algerian authorities seem determined to meet it.
