CAIRO: Egypt has a great potential for exporting gas and could increase its production up to 27.66 percent over the next 10 years, said a report by the Business Monitor International. The report said Egypt's gas export is expected to increase to up to 95 billion cubic meters by 2010, compared to about 66 billion cubic meters in 2010. The export would provide a flow of foreign currency and east the import bill, said the report, titled ‘The Outlook for the Egyptian Economy until 2020.' The report said the Egyptian economy would continue to modernize during the next ten years, including an increasingly dominant private sector and a continued flow of foreign direct investment. The report predicted that the export of services would continue to perform strongly, due to the performance of the tourism sector which would be characterized by as unique and powerful, and Suez Canal revenues will rebound in the coming years as a result of its geographical position. In addition, the continuation of the trade account deficit driven by the growth of domestic demand and the need to import capital goods. The report said Egypt is experiencing a critical stage in the process towards political transition in order to develop the institutions necessary to strengthen the democratic transition. The report noted that the economic situation in Egypt is still unclear at the current stage, and the policies the new Egyptian government or the coming regime will adopt towards the foreign investments and the various reforms to support economic growth cannot be predicted currently. However, it noted that it is certain that the transition to full democracy is the only guarantee for the stability of the government in the long term, reduce corruption and to stimulate investment and business environment, but the process of democratization will require several years and may be subject to frequent reversals. BM
