CAIRO, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi conducted a significant cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, restructuring several key ministries and appointing new ministers.
The changes, approved by the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the parliament, during its emergency general session, featured the creation of a Ministry of State for Information, headed by Diaa Rashwan, and a Ministry of Investment, led by Mohamed Farid Saleh, the chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Authority.
Notably, the ministries of local development and environment were merged under Manal Awad, while the Ministry of Transport and Industry was separated, retaining Kamel El-Wazir as the minister of transport and appointing Khaled Hashem Ali Maher as the minister of industry.
Key appointments feature Hussein Issa as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Major General Salah Soliman as the minister of state for military production, and Ahmed Rostom, a senior economist at the World Bank, as the minister of planning.
The international cooperation portfolio was added to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, now renamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates, under Badr Abdelatty.
The reshuffle follows a consultation between al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, during which the president emphasized that the newly formed government must work toward achieving specific goals across key areas, including national security, foreign policy, economic development, production, energy, food security, and human development, according to a statement from the Egyptian Presidency. ■