It has emerged that the Gulf Arab states are urging hundreds of their firms to grace an international investment summit to be held in Egypt later this week.

This is in a bid to make the firms major players in the emerging Egyptian economy, which has been in the doldrums ever since former President Hosni Mubarak was deposed in 2011.

According to Reuters, more than 270 of about 1,300 foreign administrators and company executives have already registered for the event.

The occasion is likely to pronounce Egypt as being open for business again after years of economic and political turmoil. Most of the companies are said to be from the six rich oil exporting countries of the Gulf.

“That makes the Gulf the largest regional contingent at the conference, eclipsing Europe, which traditionally dominated foreign investment in Egypt before the Arab Spring uprising of 2011,” Reuters reported on Thursday.

“The roughly 160 delegates from the United Arab Emirates far outnumber the 55 from the United States – though some of them are UAE-based representatives of Western firms,” it continued.

It is believed that Gulf firms might snatch the lion’s share of the billions of dollars of investment prospects on offer in sectors from power generation to real estate, finance, retailing and industry, according to Reuters.

Egyptian officials have told Reuters they hope the conference – to be held from Friday to Sunday in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh – will confirm domestic and foreign investments worth up to $12 billion.