Algeria-EU program to support industrial diversification and the improvement of the business climate relaunched

PARIS: After a pause of nearly a year due to the pandemic, the Program to Support Industrial Diversification and the Improvement of the Business Climate, signed in 2016 between the EU and Algeria, was relaunched on Oct. 25.

Asked by Arab News en Francais on the objectives of this program, the EU delegation in Algeria explained that PADICA is one of the main priorities of the Algeria-EU partnership for 2016-2021. Its main objectives are to ensure inclusive socio-economic development, trade, access to the European market and sustainable development.

“This program aims to improve the overall business environment, to create the conditions for an increase in the non-hydrocarbon industrial sector in the economy,” added the EU delegation.

PADICA has a financing budget of more than €18.7 million ($21 million), under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, with €2 million dedicated to the implementation of the program. This program consists of the EU deploying technical assistance for improving the business climate in Algeria, under the guidance of the National Economic and Social Center, and industrial diversification.

“The PADICA program will strengthen the capacities of the Ministry of Industry’s structures and those of institutions involved in quality infrastructure, such as the Algerian Accreditation Organization, the Algerian Institute for Standardization, or even technical standardization committees,” explained the project managers within the EU delegation in Algeria.

“PADICA also supports industrial sectors, such as committees for statistical sectors or industrial land, or in the restructuring and integration of priority sectors: free zones, industrial centers and clusters.”

They noted that this technical assistance is complemented by the provision of computers to the Ministry of Industry for the modernization of information systems and of laboratory equipment for the Technical Center of Mechanical Industries.

PADICA, an additional support for EU regional programs

PADICA also aims to meet the expectations of economic operators by improving the business climate and stimulating the creation of new businesses. “The project provides complementary support to EU regional programs aimed at the development of the private sector and cooperation in the southern Mediterranean region, in particular in beneficiary and signatory countries of the EuroMed Charter, which includes Algeria, EuroMed Invest or New Society,” said the delegation.

For economic operators, stimulating investment, boosting entrepreneurship and diversifying economic activities require a more favorable business climate. They say these steps are essential and shape the transformation of the Algerian economy from one dependent on hydrocarbons into a diversified one.

Technical assistance to important industrial sectors

The mission of this program is to provide technical assistance to the nine priority industrial sectors: agri-food, mechanics and automotive, mining, phosphate and steel, electronics and home appliances, chemicals and derivatives, petrochemicals and plastics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and corks. These missions will be carried out by the GFA consortium, led by Germany with the international services of GIZ and France’s DMI for industrial diversification.

“PADICA’s main objective is to improve the competitiveness of companies in these prioritized sectors and their integration into value chains, especially in foreign markets,” the delegation told Arab News en Francais.

For his part, Algerian Minister of Industry Ahmed Zeghdar touched on the importance of this program during his speech, particularly in the context of the government’s vision of transforming the industrial sector to improve competitiveness and diversification.

“This project was introduced in a situation where the economic and industrial policy of our country was undergoing significant changes within the framework of…foreseen reforms,” he said. He added that Algeria must take advantage of the successful experiences to strengthen the foundations of its industries and meet the challenge of economic diversification.

National Director of PADICA Nabila Sahnoune underlined that the program aims to increase the share of the industrial sector in the national economy while supporting the overall business environment in order to stimulate the creation of new businesses and meet the expectations of economic operators.

This program, which will end in 2025, has enabled the acquisition of a data center, a mechanical testing laboratory and a dimensional metrology laboratory, among other things.

This story was originally published in French on Arab News en Français