Pope’s Visit: Religious Diplomacy Meets Urban Realities Religious tourism as a niche opportunity The visit drew 20,000–30,000 attendees in Algiers alone, creating short-term demand for hotels, transport, and food services. Prices for mid-range hotels spiked 30–50% in Algiers, while local tour operators reported 40% higher bookings. Entrepreneurs in hospitality should note: – Oran saw the … Read more
This Week’s Trends Diaspora Divide: France as Both Enemy and Economic Anchor 2. France Remains Top Destination for Algerian Expatriates – 1.5 million Algerians live in France (2023 estimate), per Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – €3.5 billion in remittances flowed from France to Algeria in 2022 (World Bank). – 30% of Algerian startups with … Read more
This week in Algiers, a small storefront in the Casbah has become the epicentre of a quiet economic revival. The space, named simply “Galerie Jeunesse” (Youth Gallery), was launched in March 2025 by three local entrepreneurs—Amine Belkacem, 28, a sound engineer; Leila Merabet, 26, a graphic designer; and Karim Djafer, 30, a former bank teller. … Read more
Algeria recently staged a week-long cultural festival in Paris, its first large-scale public diplomacy push in the French capital since the 2022 diplomatic freeze. According to The Arab Weekly, the event—held at the Institut du Monde Arabe and backed by the Algerian Ministry of Culture—featured exhibitions, film screenings, concerts by Algerian artists such as Soolking … Read more
Algerian entrepreneurs and founders face a decades-old debate reignited recently by Frantz Fanon’s intellectual legacy. The discussion surfaced around cultural festivals in Algiers, where the question of national identity and post-independence direction still divides opinion. According to UCI School of Humanities, Associate Professor Muriam Haleh Davis revisited this debate in a May 2026 lecture titled … Read more
Minister Djellaoui inspects Annaba port expansion during 2025 Annaba’s phosphate port expansion is moving forward this year, with Minister of Public Works and Basic Infrastructure Abdelkader Djellaoui making a site visit on a recent Wednesday evening. The project, part of Algeria’s integrated phosphate initiative, aims to increase mineral export capacity through a newly built quay … Read more
Algeria’s Minister of Culture and Arts, Malika Bendouda, has publicly endorsed the campaign to inscribe the Augustinian itineraries on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, according to APS English. Speaking in Annaba on 14 April 2026, Bendouda praised the collective effort behind the nomination, which centres on the historical and religious trails linked to Saint Augustine, the … Read more
Minister of Labour Abdelhak Saihi met this week in Algiers with Arezki Mezhoud, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), and Amar Takdjout, Secretary-General of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), the Ministry of Labour announced. The closed-door meeting was confirmed in an official statement from the ministry and took place … Read more
This week, Algeria’s ministers of Post and Telecommunications Sid Ali Zerrouki and Knowledge Economy, Start-ups and Micro-enterprises Noureddine Ouadah inaugurated the national event “Algeria in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” organised by a local start-up in Algiers. The move signals a deliberate pivot toward artificial intelligence as a lever for economic diversification, youth employment and … Read more
This week, the “Ras El Abiad” seawater desalination plant in Oran secured second place at the 2026 Global Water Awards in Madrid. The facility, operated by the Algerian Desalination Company (ADC), a subsidiary of Sonatrach, was recognized in the “Best Seawater Desalination Project of the Year” category. According to Algérie Presse Service (APS), the award … Read more