Chairman of the Arab Businessmen Association (ABA) Hamdi al Tabaa said Thursday that Egypt has industrial and agricultural potentials, as well as human resources, that enable it to lead the economic process in the Arab world.

The New Suez Canal, which will be inaugurated later today, is not an Egyptian project, rather an Arab and international one, Tabaa told MENA correspondent in Amman.

It is a new economic route that will surely achieve big success, Tabaa believes.

He stressed the need to post Jordanian businessmen on new projects Egypt intends to implement after the inauguration of the canal.

Tabaa praised the successful Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) during which Cairo had floated a number of important national projects, atop of which the New Suez Canal.

The Arab world is in need today of sustainable investments, he said, adding that Arab countries should depend on their own potentials, skills and resources.

A political will and legislative stability, as well as a clear plan, are needed to attract investments to the region, Tabaa told MENA.

"We need sustainable projects to create more job opportunities," he said. Based on recent statistics, the Arab world is in need of 80 million jobs over the coming five years, Tabaa added.

Established in 1997, the Arab Business Association is an independent and a non-governmental and non-profit entity.

Based in Amman, the ABA groups Arab associations, authorities, unions and businessmen.