Khaled Al-Masry - Cairo
On Sunday, the Egyptian parliament approved a cabinet reshuffle that includes ten ministries, at the request of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
This is the third cabinet reshuffle in the government of Dr. Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, which started in mid 2018.
Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Al said that the amendments included Dr. Mostafa Kamal Madbouly taking over, besides the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the portfolio of the minister concerned with investment and administrative reform after merging the two ministries.
The new cabinet reshuffle did not include any sovereign portfolios, while it included the creation of the Ministry of Information after its abolition nearly eight years after the January 2011 revolution, in addition to merging tourism and antiquities into one ministerial portfolio.
The reshuffle also included the portfolios of justice, international cooperation, civil aviation, social solidarity, agriculture, trade and industry, and parliament, and the responsibility for economic development was added to the planning portfolio.
Parliament also approved the appointment of 11 deputy ministers in telecommunications, petroleum, agriculture, education, tourism, antiquities, health and housing portfolios.
Khaled Ezz was appointed Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Chancellor Omar Marwan as Minister of Justice, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed as Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat for the International Cooperation Portfolio, and Osama Heikal as Minister of State for Information.
Muhammad Manar Enabah was also appointed as Minister of Civil Aviation, Nevin Al Kabbaj as Minister of Solidarity, Muhammad Al Quseir for the Agriculture Portfolio, Nevin Jamea as Minister of Trade and Industry, and Alauddin Fouad as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
The new cabinet reshuffle came less than a month after a change that included more than half the number of governors (16 of 27), who are the highest local officials in the country's governorates, in a move that observers considered "a rearrangement of the home from within", after a range of unusual criticisms of the government's performance .