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The requirement for exporters to surrender of foreign currency proceeds was lifted in December , and in January Links of London Egyptian pound became fully convertible. GAFI’s provision of incentives for free zones has raised occupancy to almost in the two largest zones, Alexandria and Cairo. Three new zones have been established and two more are planned. The main recipients of foreign investment are the oil and gas, tourism and textile sectors. Leading sources of FDI are the UK, the US and France, mainly towards centrepiece oil and gas developments. In spite of all of the government’Links of London C Charm good intentions, there are some caveats to this positive outlook. Although BMI is reasonably sanguine that the political will to continue the reform process is there, it is unclear how deep this runs within the lower layers of Egypt’s institutions. There is a good case for arguing that it may be limited to a few reformers at the top levels of government. Certainly, there is an old guard among the ruling National Democratic Party NDP that is more concerned with selfpreservation than creating the conditions for sustainable longterm economic growth. In the event of any popular unrest, the old guard could rise to the fore on Links of London Charm Bracelet populist ticket. Although Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son and widely tipped as his successor, is known to be probusiness. If he does succeed Hosni Mubarak, Gamal will not enjoy the security of his father’s presidency and may be forced to surround himself with a more populist administration. Foreign Trade Regime The government’s post reform drive has brought significant changes to Egypt’s tariff system, with a cut in the weighted average tariff rate from . to . and the slashing of the number of tariff bands. It has also eliminated import fees and surcharges, and revived some mothballed free trade agreements FTAs with Arab countries. The government is also looking to leverage its strong ties with the US government to negotiate a favourable FTA with Washington. Egypt is a signatory of the PanAfrican Links of London Classic 18ct Gold Maple Leaf Charm Trade Agreement, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA and is founder member of the Arab Free Trade Area.