Over the last few years, North Africa has gained increasingly geopolitical relevance in global affairs. Its strategic geographical location, the abundance of oil and gas resources, the development of massive infrastructural projects, but also conflicts and instability have attracted the interests of regional and international powers. The long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic risk to exacerbate these issues, having durable effects on the entire region. In Algeria, for instance, the drop of oil prices is further complicating the troubled political transition that the country is going through, risking to bring it back to turmoil. In Egypt – a country which is crossed by waves of discontent and protests – the pandemic’s economic impact may heighten social inequalities and give new impetus to the population’s grievances. In Libya, where the global health crisis has certainly not resumed hostilities, the growing interests of international actors (Turkey, Russia) are stratifying the conflict even further. What are the main challenges in North Africa today? How the post-pandemic world will impact on them? In particular, what are we witnessing to in North Africa’s oil economies in the aftermath of the oil prices collapse? How can regional and international efforts attempt to promote new paths towards North Africa’s stability and prosperity?

By invitation only

In partnership with