Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has held talks with ministers to try to revive an economy hit by a wave of anti-government protests.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has held talks with ministers to try
to revive an economy hit by a wave of anti-government protests.

Banks will reopen on Sunday and the stock market on Monday, as Finance
Minister Samir Radwan said the economic situation was "very serious".

Analysts say the uprising is costing the country at least $310m a day.

Protesters remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square following Friday's mass
rally calling for Mr Mubarak to resign.

Separately on Saturday, there were also reports of an explosion at a
pipeline that supplies gas to Israel and Jordan. The blast caused a
fire near el-Arish, Egyptian state television reported.

'Solid base'
Mr Mubarak has said he will not stand for re-election in September but
insists he must stay until then to prevent chaos in the country.
Protesters demand that he goes immediately.

On Saturday, the president met the prime minister, finance minister,
oil minister and trade and industry minister, along with the central
bank governor.

Banks and the stock exchange have been closed for days, and many
factories in the major cities have shut.

The BBC's Kevin Connolly, in Cairo, says the paralysis induced by the
protests is having a huge impact on the creaking economy. Tourists
have been frightened away and the prices of basic goods like
cigarettes and bread have been soaring.

He says many Egyptians are beginning to wonder aloud how quickly daily
life will return to normal regardless of the outcome of the struggle
for power.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Radwan admitted the economy faced a "very
serious" situation and that he was in constant touch with the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

But he also said the economy had a "solid base" and "so far, we are coping".

Economists at Credit Agricole say the uprising is costing the country
at least $310m (£192m) a day and they have revised down their economic
growth estimate for Egypt this year from 5.3% to 3.7%.

Mr Radwan also said there would be a meeting with opposition groups to
try to end the 12 days of protests.

He said Vice-President Omar Suleiman and "almost certainly Prime
Minister Ahmed Shafiq" would attend, adding that they would have
"sufficient authority to negotiate with the opposition".

He did not say which opposition groups would attend. Egyptian
television said the al-Wafd and Al-Tajammu parties would be at the
talks.

Leading opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei told Germany's Der
Spiegel weekly he would like to hold talks "with army chiefs,
preferably soon, to study how we can achieve a transition without
bloodshed".

The biggest opposition group in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, has
said it will take part in discussions provided the government submits
political reform within a specified time frame. But it also insists Mr
Mubarak must leave office immediately.

Mr Radwan said the transition of power had already begun, with Mr
Mubarak saying he would not run again for president.

"It is setting a process in place to ensure a smooth transition of
power without falling into the trap of the chaos scenario," he said.

Saturday's pipeline explosion targeted supplies to Israel and Jordan
from Egypt's Port Said.

Gas was shut off and the fire was brought under control by
mid-morning, state television said.

It also reported that the curfew had now been shortened and would be
in effect from 1900 to 0600 local time (1700-0400 GMT).

'Wrong approach'
On Saturday at a conference in Munich, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said the "status quo" of undemocratic nations in the region
was "simply not sustainable".

She said that transition to democracy could be chaotic and cause
instability, but added: "Governments who consistently deny people
freedom will open the door to instability... free people govern
themselves best."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK PM David Cameron, also at the
conference, both stressed the need for stability in Egypt.

Mrs Merkel added: "Early elections at the beginning of the
democratisation process is probably the wrong approach."

On Friday huge crowds had demonstrated across Egypt for an 11th day.

More than 100,000 people - including large numbers of women and
children - gathered in Tahrir Square for what was being called the
"day of departure".

There were also demonstrations in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, and
in the towns of Suez, Port Said, Rafah, Ismailiya, Zagazig, al-Mahalla
al-Kubra, Aswan and Asyut.

However, there were suggestions that the protesters would now reduce
their presence in central Cairo.

One of their leaders, George Ishaq of the Kifaya (Enough) movement,
told the BBC: "Protesters will remain in Tahrir Square on all days of
the week. But each Friday, there will be a demonstration like today."

The UN believes more than 300 have died across Egypt since the
protests began on 25 January, with about 4,000 hurt.

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