CAIRO – Local economic experts are not optimistic that foreign investments will return to the Egyptian market in the immediate future. The latest report issued by the Central Bank of Egypt is likely to substantiate their worries. The report has shown that direct foreign investments in Egypt declined by 90.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the corresponding period in 2009/2010. The tap of direct foreign investments in Egypt was quickly turned off when mass demonstrations broke out across the nation, forcing president Hosni Mubarak to step down. Never ending protests constituted the biggest challenge for the government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. The government's task became increasingly difficult when these demonstrations coincided with a decline in the public's sense of security and safety. An ex-Minister of Economy sounded the alarm, stating that Egypt's economy was witnessing a conundrum. Sultan Abu-Ali attributed the tragic dilemma of the nation's economy to escalating developments in society. The ex-minister said that the situation got worse when confidence in Egypt's security and stability collapsed, not only at home, but also abroad. He said to a local newspaper that the Investment Authority was holding the key to the future of foreign investments; it should intensify its role and help stimulate the investment flow. Abu-Ali reckoned that new foreign investments in Egypt would appear a year from now if the police managed to confront thugs and lawbreakers; but there were indications that police generals and their men were not keen to improve security in society because their police stations got torched during the revolution. The former minister urged everybody, including ordinary citizens, to send a reassuring message to foreign investors and encourage them to resume their co-operation with Egypt. The vice-chairman of the Association of Investors substantiated the ex-minister's worries. Adel el-Ezabi seized the opportunity to warn that the domestic economy would experience more painful sufferings if exports to foreign markets declined. Airing his worries in the local press, the Association's vice-chairman said that security was the key to a successful outcome as far as the efforts of persuading foreign investors to relinquish their fears and return were concerned.
