North Africa holds key to EU-Africa trade boost, says IMF chief

By Benjamin Fox, The EUobserver, 6 February 2026

NAIROBI - Economic ties between North Africa and Europe could increase the region’s economy by $67bn [€56.8bn], IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has said.

Speaking at a conference in Algiers on Thursday (5 February), the IMF managing director pointed to a new report by the Fund which indicates that “a comprehensive package of reforms that increase North Africa’s economic linkages with Europe and sub-Saharan Africa” could boost North Africa’s exports by 16 percent and GDP by over seven percent—increasing economic output by $67bn.

The IMF chief pointed to average North African import tariffs of seven percent which, she said, were higher than those in many South Asian, Gulf, EU and sub-Saharan Africa economies.

While Europe accounts for most of North Africa’s trade, trade between north and sub-Saharan Africa is negligible, representing only four percent of exports and just one percent of imports, Georgieva added.

Cutting intra-African barriers to trade, including tariffs, and boosting regional transport networks and pipelines, would drive the bulk of the economic gains, said Georgieva.

“Europe is looking to expand its trade partnerships. Sub-Saharan Africa is looking for avenues to tap the potential of its vast resources and people. And North Africa offers numerous opportunities for investment and partnership,” said Georgieva.

The weakness of intra-African trade, which accounts for less than 20 percent of the continent’s total commerce, is a long-standing economic problem.

African leaders have agreed to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area but harmonising regulation is likely to take decades.

For its part, the von der Leyen commission has also promised to prioritise relations with countries in North Africa and the Maghreb, unveiling a ‘Pact for the Mediterranean’ last November.

Mediterranean Pact

The Cypriot government, which took over the EU council’s six-month rotating presidency in January, has made Mediterranean region relations at the top of its agenda.

Last week, President Nikos Christodoulides stated that the first ‘concrete cooperation projects’ under the pact would be presented at an EU leaders’ summit in Cyprus on 23-24 April.

Nicosia would lead “by leveraging our geographical position, our political credibility and our knowledge of the region’s particularities,” Christodoulides added.

Though the EU currently has trade agreements with Morocco, Egypt and Israel, migration control rather than increasing trade and economic integration has been its main priority in recent years.

Its ‘cash for migrant control’ deals with Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania and Jordan are worth a combined €10bn, and the commission has pointed to lower numbers of irregular crossings via the Mediterranean routes as proof of their effectiveness.

However, the agreements have also offered the promise of billions of euros of investment for green energy projects , including green hydrogen, which the EU executive wants to promote as it seeks to end the bloc’s remaining dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Attracting talent

Aside from economic boosts, commission vice president Dubravka Šuica also promised that the EU would “scale up” so-called ‘Talent Partnerships’ with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, and facilitate issuance of visas.

Employment-related first residence permits for nationals from the region have surged over the past decade, rising from 34,000 in 2013 to 75,000 in 2023. Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt account for 85 percent of these permits.

Meanwhile, the commission has proposed to allocate €42bn to the Mediterranean region in its next seven-year budget framework, with commission president Ursula von der Leyen stating that this would support more than 100 “concrete initiatives”.

However, details on how much of this is new funding are sparse.

“With no dedicated budget line and most EU external funds programmed until 2027, the Pact’s success will hinge on member-state and private-sector contributions, especially for new regional initiatives,” said Helena Hahn, a policy analyst with the think tank European Policy Centre.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CEMAS editorial team.