African leaders will meet in Egypt on Friday for the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum, a three-day business summit aimed at strengthening economic cooperation and expanding Egypt’s influence across the continent.

The forum, to be held in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, is expected to attract more than 20 heads of state and government representatives, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions.

Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh, said the forum would provide a platform for African countries to establish stronger commercial relationships across different regions of the continent.

He said the gathering was designed as an African platform through which countries in East, West, North and Southern Africa could develop agreements and business partnerships.

The forum is expected to become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, with discussions focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.

The meeting forms part of Egypt’s efforts to strengthen its economic and diplomatic engagement with other African countries, following years in which its foreign policy attention was largely focused on the Middle East and Mediterranean region.

Egyptian officials estimate the country’s investments across Africa at about $14 billion. One of its major projects is the $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project in Tanzania, constructed by a consortium led by Egyptian companies.

The forum comes as African countries seek to increase intra-African trade, which remains relatively low despite the continent’s large population and natural resources.

Trade within Africa stood at about $192 billion in 2023, representing roughly 15 per cent of the continent’s total trade. This compares with more than 55 per cent in Asia and over 70 per cent in Europe.

Africa attracted about $70 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, significantly below the approximately $1.6 trillion invested globally during the period.

Saleh said Africa possessed vast resources but had yet to fully exploit them, stressing the need for stronger investment and economic partnerships.

The summit will also take place against the backdrop of the longstanding dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ethiopia maintains that the dam, inaugurated in 2025, is essential to its economic development, while Egypt has expressed concern that its operation could affect its access to Nile waters.

More than a decade of negotiations between the two countries has failed to produce a binding agreement on the dam’s operation.

Saleh said Egypt’s position on what it considers its water security interests remained unchanged, describing the issue as existential for the country.