US exports to Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa are forecast to grow almost 20 percent this year to a record $75 billion, fuelled by big infrastructure projects and resurgent consumer demand, according to a new private sector report.

"The Middle East could play a very helpful role in helping the Obama administration double US exports by 2015," said David Hamod, president of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, which compiled the estimate.

Altogether, Arab countries are expected to import $800 billion worth of goods and services this year, a 12 percent increase over 2009 "so we're still kind of ahead of the curve if US exports grow by 20 percent," Hamod told Reuters in an interview.   

US exports of goods and services to the Middle East and North Africa fell about 9 percent in 2009 along with the overall slump in global demand. President Barack Obama has set a goal of doubling overall exports over the next five years to help drive US economic recovery and create 2 million American jobs.

The National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce report estimated some 740,000 direct and indirect US jobs would be supported this year by exports to the Middle East and North Africa.

The United Arab Emirates is expected to be the largest US export market in the region for the fifth year in a row, followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Qatar.

US exports to the UAE, which re-exports many goods to Saudi Arabia and other countries, should rebound to $22.2 billion this year while direct exports to Saudi Arabia bounce back to $17 billion, the report said.

Both are down somewhat from the level reached in 2008 before the full brunt of the global financial crisis took hold on trade. Leading US exports to the two countries include cars, civilian aircraft, drilling equipment and telecommunication products.   

A big factor driving US export growth in the region are a number of "mega-infrastructure projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the long term," Hamod said.

Those include construction of six economic cities in Saudi Arabia, as part of the kingdom's drive to diversify away from its near total-reliance on hydrocarbons.   

Libya and Algeria are also planning big infrastructure projects, although US exports to those countries are forecast to remain relatively small in 2010 at $1.01 billion and $1.32 billion, respectively.   

The United States lifted sanctions on Libya in 2004, but has captured only a small share of the country's growth in goods imports, which surged to $28 billion last year from $6 billion in 2006, the report showed.   

US exports to Iraq have grown more rapidly, supported by the United States' heavy military presence and the Iraqi government's long-term goal of more than quadrupling oil production to between 10 million and 12 million barrels per day.

US companies such as "Halliburton, Schlumberger, Bechtel and others are among the best positioned companies for long-term service contracts worth billions of dollars to rebuild terminals, upgrade and repair pipelines, and to install the modern infrastructure Iraq needs for exploration, transit and delivery," the report said.

Egypt is expected to remains a top Middle East market for US consumer and capital goods, as well as military items. Qatar, which controls 14.3 percent of the world's total natural gas reserves and is the forward headquarters for the US Central Command, is forecast to be the region's fast-growing market for US exporters in 2010. - Reuters