Egypt swears in new Cabinet members after tough search
Egypt faced a lot of rejections before it was able to field nine new Cabinet members.
CAIRO — After months of discussion and after numerous candidates declined to serve, Egypt has nine new Cabinet members and two fewer ministries. Parliament unanimously approved the nominees Feb. 14, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi swore in the ministers Feb. 16.
The International Cooperation Ministry and the Investment Ministry were merged and will be headed by Sahar Nasr. The embattled Supply Ministry was merged with the Trade and Industry Ministry; Ali al-Moselhy will head the new Supply and Trade Ministry.
The government of Prime Minister Sharif Ismail has been widely criticized in the media, so much so that Sisi had announced Jan. 16, during a meeting with the editors-in-chief of national newspapers, that the reshuffle was imminent. “We will fix what needs to be fixed and improve performance,” Sisi said.
Securing new Cabinet members was a lengthy and difficult task. Ismail told Middle East News Agency on Jan. 19 that many potential Cabinet candidates had declined to serve, especially in some much-criticized ministries.
