Algeria has completed construction of a 200-hectare free trade zone near its border with Mauritania, marking a significant step in its efforts to expand commercial ties with West Africa. The complex features warehouses, exhibition spaces, and facilities for customs, banking, insurance, and goods inspection. Algeria is also funding the construction of an 840-kilometer road from Tindouf to Zouerate in Mauritania, a move intended to ease access to African markets for Algerian businesses. Algiers is also pursuing customs cooperation and preferential trade arrangements with its neighbor. However, the country’s broader ambitions face considerable challenges: Afreximbank estimates that intra-African trade accounted for under 5% of Algeria’s foreign trade in 2025, while hydrocarbons generate more than 90% of its export revenue. As a result, Tindouf’s performance will test whether Algiers’ strategy to expand commercial ties with West Africa works.