(Photo Handout from the Cabinet)
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s first cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday morning under Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.
While a reshuffle of previous ministers in the interim cabinet is expected, state-owned MENA on Monday afternoon reported that the Ministry of Information would be cancelled.
As was widely expected, the Ministry of Information was dissolved and replaced by the National Media Council and National Press and Media Association, detailed in Articles 211-213 of the new constitution, to oversee the country’s media moving forward.
Spokesman for the cabinet Hossam ElQaweish stated that the new cabinet is expected to feature ten new members, while the ministers of Health, Communication, Housing, and Civil Aviation will remain the same. The ministries of Defence, Interior, Social Solidarity, and Tourism will also maintain their same heads, according to the prime minister.
A new ministry specifically tasked with affairs involving Egyptians abroad will also be founded, a source told Daily News Egypt.
The interim cabinet submitted its resignation to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi last week after Al-Sisi’s inauguration. Mehleb said the resignation comes as per Egyptian law and the constitution. The president reappointed Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to form another cabinet shortly afterwards.
Mehleb occupied the position of Minister of Housing in former Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi’s cabinet until the cabinet resigned on 24 February. He was then appointed as prime minister, with a special focus on strengthening Egypt’s economy.
A former member of the now dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP), Mehleb was appointed to the Shura Council under former president Hosni Mubarak and served on the NDP’s High Council for Policies, alongside Gamal Mubarak.
Additional reporting by Mohamed Ayyad
