TEHRAN – Algeria’s infrastructure needs offer significant opportunities for exporting technical and engineering services, making the North African country a largely untapped economic market, the head of Iran’s trade center in Algeria said, according to the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

Saeed Zare’ Haghighi said Africa — and Algeria in particular — should be seen as a strategic destination for the private sector, noting that limited numbers of commercial counsellors made targeted entry into new markets essential.

He described Algeria as a geopolitically secure country with a strategic location close to Europe, adding that after the decline in Russian energy exports, about 20 percent of Europe’s oil and gas is now supplied by Algeria.

Zare’ Haghighi said Algeria’s foreign currency revenues had risen from around $50 billion to more than $300 billion in recent years, generating a trade surplus of $20 billion to $30 billion and creating broad scope for economic cooperation.

He pointed to strong demand in Algeria for technical and engineering services, infrastructure projects, and the construction of silos and storage facilities linked to food security, saying Iranian companies had the technical know-how and experience to meet these needs.

He also highlighted Algeria’s industrial and mining potential, including steel and phosphate, and said the trade center was ready to identify opportunities, guide exporters and promote participation in specialized exhibitions, drawing on models used by countries such as Turkey that combine trade with on-the-ground investment.

EF/MA