Major government reshuffle in Egypt

A comprehensive reshuffle has been carried out in the Egyptian Cabinet, including the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, finance, and petroleum.

According to reports from the official Egyptian news agency, the cabinet members formed by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who was tasked with forming a new government a month and a half ago, have taken their oaths and assumed office.

In the cabinet, Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik, Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Communications Amr Talaat, Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Higher Education Ayman Ashour, and Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam retained their positions.

In the new cabinet, Abdel Majeed Saqr was appointed as Minister of Defense replacing Mohamed Zaki, Badr Abdelatty as Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing Sameh Shoukry, and Ahmed Kouchouk as Minister of Finance replacing Mohamed Maait.

Egypt's new Minister of Finance, Kouchouk, has held various positions in the Ministry of Finance since 2007 and had been serving as Deputy Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies and Institutional Reform since 2016.

Kouchouk, who also participated in the country's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), holds two master's degrees in economics from Harvard and York universities in the US.

Graduating with honors from the American University in Cairo's economics department in 1998, Kouchouk has worked at numerous international institutions and organizations.

NEW FOREIGN MINISTER ABDELATTY

The new Foreign Minister, Abdelatty, who served as Egypt's Ambassador to Brussels before his appointment, played a role in developing relations between his country and Europe.

Abdelatty, who also played an important role in developing trade cooperation between Egypt and the European Union, contributed to the signing of multi-billion dollar investment agreements between the EU and the Cairo administration.

Having previously served as Deputy Foreign Minister and in numerous other roles, Abdelatty served as Egypt's Ambassador to Berlin from 2015 to 2019.

Abdelatty also served as a diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1991 to 1995.

DEFENSE MINISTER ALSO CHANGED

The new Minister of Defense, Abdel Majeed Saqr, who is also a major general, held a civilian post as Governor of Suez before his appointment.

Saqr, who previously served as Deputy Minister of Defense, oversaw various development and infrastructure projects during his tenure as Governor of Suez.

Karim Badawi was appointed as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, replacing Tarek El-Molla, at a time when power outages have decreased and efforts to increase natural gas supply to power plants are being witnessed.

According to the report by the Egyptian newspaper "Youm7," 23 out of 31 ministries were changed in this move, which is seen as the largest reshuffle in Egyptian history.

Prime Minister Madbouly had submitted his government's resignation to President Sisi on June 3. Sisi, who accepted the resignation, subsequently tasked Madbouly again with forming a new government.

News Source: 12punto