Egypt Ambassador Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser said Thursday one of his main tasks in Japan, where the people's "love of ancient Egypt" is strong, is to make them more interested in today's Egypt.

During a visit to The Japan Times, Abdelnasser, who has been at his post since September, said Egypt and Japan are in final preparations to open the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology in September 2009.

Initially, 700 graduate-level students will be admitted to the university, where 10 Japanese teachers will join Egyptian teachers who have studied in Japan.