Egyptian-Israeli trade expected to rise 130 percent this year

CAIRO - Egypt's trade with Israel is expected to rise 130 percent this year, according to the latest figures. The increase is the result of a U.S.-brokered agreement that has created an estimated 15,000 Egyptian jobs, an indication of how better relations can produce economic growth.

Israeli investment in Egypt, by contrast, remains stagnant, largely because of lingering distrust and political sentiment.

Figures from the Israeli Export Institute show Egyptian-Israeli trade will rise from $58 million in 2004 to a projected $134 million in 2005. The volume is small - Egypt's global exports are worth about $12 billion a year, Israel's are about $30 billion - but it amounts to a U-turn by Cairo, which has long kept ties with Israel to a minimum.

Suspicions remain, however. Many Egyptians still see Israel as "the enemy," says Cairo property developer Hesham Ashmawy. Israelis may be concerned by recollections of the fate of Azzam Azzam, an Israeli textile businessman who was jailed in Egypt for eight years for espionage - a charge he and Israel denied. He was freed last year.

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Isreal top export. High Tech weapon system.
Wonder how the S.Korea deal went in the end.

economic conditions as well as increasing mutual trust and respect can only help, though I believe it will take time. There is a great deal of poverty throughout the Middle East and of course Africa, within Israel as well. Of course decades of violence have also taken a terrible toll.

But I see many hopeful signs. The recent Islamic conference in Saudi Arabia, a "truth commission" in Morocco, the large turnout for the elections in Iraq - all are signs that moderation and respect for democratic principles and reform may be growing.