Cairo, Egypt - Former US Presidential hopefuls, John Kerry and John McCain, have said an improved Egyptian economy is the key to a successful transition to democracy in the country. The senators, speaking in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, were part of a delegation promoting business ties between the US and Egypt. After ringing the opening bell at the Egyptian stock exchange, they spoke to the media, saying that they believed success or failure of the 25 January revolution in Egypt would be directly related to the ability to find jobs for the Egyptian people. Kerry and McCain are both sponsors of a Senate bill that would establish Enterprise Funds for Egypt and Tunisia, to help these countries cope with their struggling economies following incidents of unrest that followed their successful peaceful revolutions.

A similar bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives.

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund would provide finance and technologically support for small- and medium-sized Egyptian businesses.

The bill states that according to the Egyptian government, such businesses are responsible for nearly 75 percent of private sector employment in Egypt.

McCain, a Republican, urged passing the bill quickly and stated that it had bipartisan support because successful democracy in Egypt was in America's national security interest.

Kerry, a Democrat, mentioned Egypt’s historical role in regional stability and added that a democratic Egypt would be important for the quest for peace in this region.

The US senators met in Egypt with the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, and Prime minister, Dr. Essam Sharaf.

Kerry and McCain also visited Tahrir square, the epicentre of protests that drove former President Hosni Mubarak and his regime away from power.

The Egyptian Army, in charge of the country's affairs since 11 February, has vowed to lead the nation to a freely-elected civilian administration before the end of the year.

Pana 28/06/2011