Egypt planning minister calls for legal review, "economic revolution"

Egypt needs an "economic revolution" to recover from damage caused by political instability as it seeks to attract billions of dollars in foreign investment and repair its state finances, planning minister Ashraf al-Arabi said.

The Arab world's most populous nation has struggled since a popular uprising toppled veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Last year, then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled elected president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood after mass protests against his rule.

The ensuing security crackdown on the Brotherhood, pro-Mursi street protests and attacks by Islamist militants based in the Sinai Peninsula have hammered tourism, a pillar of the economy, and kept most foreign investors away.

To compensate for those losses and eventually compete globally, Egypt must overhaul an economy which has been dominated by the state for decades and show investors it is committed to safeguarding their money, Arabi said.