Industry says opening of banks boosted economy * IMF says recovery depends on tourism rebound By Tom Pfeiffer CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt would like European Union states to cancel its debts to them but has not made a formal request, the EU's local delegation said, as Egypt's economy showed signs of recovery from weeks of political turmoil. The government has slashed its growth forecast after 18 days of street protests across the country unseated President Hosni Mubarak, scaring off tourists, hitting inward investment and sparking a wave of strikes in banks, industry and government. The economy was worth an estimated $217 billion last year and it relies heavily on foreign investment, tourism and fees from the Suez Canal. A government statistics agency estimates the uprising cost the economy at least $1.7 billion. A spokeswoman for the European Union delegation in Cairo said European Union Ambassador Marco Franco met Finan
Condemned the German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly the suicide attack which targeted the Church of Saints in Alexandria in northern Egypt for New Year's Eve, killing 21 people and wounding 97 others. Wrote Angela in a letter of condolence to President Hosni Mubarak: "I received the news of the horrific attack in shock and panic .. Government German condemns in the strongest degree of this barbaric terrorist attack which claimed the lives of Christians and Muslims alike. "At the same time the German Chancellor expressed its conviction that Mubarak will do everything in their power to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
