* US aide sees UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar as growth markets
* Speech to business group avoids discussion of Egypt
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A top U.S. trade official said on Monday he was optimistic about U.S. export growth to Arab countries, but steered clear of the turbulent political situation in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation.
"Change is afoot throughout the region, and nothing can safeguard the region more so than economic progress," Commerce Under Secretary Francisco Sanchez said in a speech to the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
The business group released a report on Monday forecasting U.S. goods and services exports to the Middle East and North Africa will increase to $117 billion by 2013, from an estimated record of nearly $68 billion in 2010.
Sanchez highlighted potential new exports to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the two biggest U.S. export markets in the Arab world.
The UAE's push into nuclear power and other efforts to diversify its economy create a number of new business opportunities, while Saudi Arabia is planning "a massive infrastructure project of more than $400 billion in the next 10 years," Sanchez said.
At the same time, "Saudi business leaders are concerned that American companies are lagging behind European, Chinese and Korean companies in taking advantage of numerous business opportunities in the region," he said.
Sanchez also spotlighted Qatar, which he said is spending $65 billion to prepare to host the 2022 World Cup soccer games and planning $120 billion over the next 10 years on road, ports, rail and other infrastructure projects.
Sanchez did not mention Egypt, the third largest U.S. export market in the region, where President Hosni Mubarak is clinging to power despite protests calling for an end to his 30-year presidency.
In a sign of how delicately the U.S. government views that situation, Sanchez agreed to take questions after his speech with the stipulation his answers were "off the record."
Last year, the United States exported more than $6 billion worth of goods to Egypt, including farm products, civilian aircraft, military equipment and armaments.
It imported more than $2 billion of goods from Egypt. The single biggest item was natural gas, followed by clothing and household goods made from cotton.
Egypt, one of the relatively few countries that runs a trade deficit with the United States, has long wanted a free trade agreement with the United States.
However, concerns about Mubarak's commitments to political reforms have stood in the way of that.
Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk traveled to Cairo for meetings under a bilateral forum called the Strategic Partnership for Trade-Related and Investment Issues.
USTR has not announced any dates for meetings under that forum in 2011. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)