The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Claver Gatete, met on Monday, January 26, 2026, with Algerian President, Abdelmajid Tebboune, at the start of his working visit to the country, which aims to strengthen cooperation with Algeria and identify priorities for bilateral cooperation.
During their meeting, President Tebboune expressed his strong intention to strengthen cooperation with the ECA, with particular attention to strategic priorities including statistics, monitoring the implementation of public policies, digitalisation, governance and South-South cooperation.
Africa is capable of extraordinary achievements, including in manufacturing and high-tech, said President Tebboune, who stressed the importance of industrialisation to create jobs and reduce dependency with regard to imports. Mr. Tebboune also stressed that development must go beyond the macro-economic dimension and take into account aspects such as human development or the redistribution of wealth.
Gatete’s visit is part of a tour covering Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco, with the aim of meeting with government officials and gaining a deeper understanding and understanding of their development priorities, needs and areas of support, and explore opportunities to strengthen South-South cooperation.
This visit by the ECA Executive Secretary also coincides with a retreat of the ECA senior management team and preparations for the 2026 Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2026), scheduled from March 28 to April 3, 2026, under the theme: “Growth through Innovation: Harnessing Data and Cutting-Edge Technologies for Africa’s Economic Transformation”.