Egypt to occupy prominent economic position within 10 coming years

US diplomatic sources in Cairo expressed on Thursday confidence that the Egyptian economy would occupy a prominent position in ten years should Egypt keep pace with the current information revolution, an Egyptian statement said.

The United States sees Egypt as having the capability to compete, not only in the Middle East, but in Africa and other continents as well.

In press statements, the sources asserted the importance of President Mubarak's recent visit to the US and his talks with President Bill Clinton, senior administration officials and businessmen.

The visit augmented the interest on part of American investors to pump money into Egypt, notably in information technology (IT).

Five major IT companies are to be built in Egypt as a result of the visit.

"The Egyptian-US second partnership committee will convene within three months to look into raising cooperation in technology transfer, education and training," the sources said.

"Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahauddin will pay a visit to Washington in the summer to examine means of broadening scope of education cooperation," the sources added.

The sources underlined Egypt’s important role in the Middle East peace process, the statement added.