Egypt’s Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said that the country’s GDP jumped to 5.3% in Q1 2018, which began in July, compared to 5.2% in the prior-year period, amid the government’s invested efforts to achieve comprehensive reforms in all sectors to maintain its upward trend, Invest-Gate reports.

El-Saeed said that 73% of the contribution to the GDP comes from the following sectors: 13% from the natural gas sector, 10% from the wholesale and retail sectors, 9% from the agricultural sector, and 7% from the telecommunication sector, according to an official statement by the Planning Ministry on November 16.

The minister stated that the growth rate of non-petroleum exports leaped by 1.3% to USD 5.5 bn in Q1 of FY 2018/19, stating that 36% of Egypt’s non-petroleum exports were to Arab countries, while 30% of those exports went to the European Union countries.

According to the statement, the natural gas sector achieved a positive growth rate in Q1 of FY 2018/19, reaching 21.8%, followed by telecommunications sector with 16.8%, Suez Canal revenues with 12.3%, and finally the construction sector with 6%.

The Egyptian economy has been ailing since the 2011 uprising, which drove tourists and foreign investors away. But the country has been showing signs of recovery in recent months amid tough reforms, including cuts to energy subsidies implemented by the government as part of a USD 12 bn IMF loan agreement aimed at luring back foreign investments.