Egypt: Major cabinet reshuffle sees 13 new ministers take key positions

An emergency session of parliament on Saturday approved several cabinet changes in Egypt's first major reshuffle since 2019, with 13 ministers moved, the National Media Authority reported.

A statement said the House of Representatives had approved "all the nominations set forth in a letter from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi regarding a ministerial reshuffle".

Sisi's official Facebook page said the president had urged parliament to discuss the changes in the more than 30-strong cabinet, which were agreed following consultations with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.

There has been only one reshuffle since Madbouli took office in 2018, in December 2019.

Following parliamentary approval, the new ministers are now expected to be sworn in.

The reshuffle does not include the key defence, interior, finance or foreign ministries.

But it does appoint new ministers of health, tourism and antiquities, commerce and industry, irrigation, civil aviation, immigration, education, higher education, military production, manpower, public business sector, culture and local development.

The decision to replace outgoing irrigation minister Mohamed Abdel Aty comes just a day after Addis Ababa announced it had finished its third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Ethiopian water project damming the Nile is proceeding without agreement from downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.

The new irrigation minister is Hani Sewilam, a professor of sustainable development and water resources management at the American University in Cairo.

He assumes the post amid increasing fears over water security and an impending water crisis.

Other notable swaps include tourism and antiquities. Khaled Anani is credited with several high-profile attempts to revive Egypt's vital tourism industry and he is succeeded by Ahmed Issa Abu Hussein.

The health portfolio has been filled by Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, the acting minister since October.

Abdel Ghaffar's former post of higher education minister will be filled by his deputy, Ayman Ashour.

Another notable appointment is Egyptian Air Force chief Mohamed Abbas Helmy, who takes on the civil aviation portfolio.