Egypt’s parliament approves cabinet reshuffle, with 13 new ministers

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday approved by a majority a Cabinet reshuffle as the North African country struggles with an ailing economy and mounting pressure from regional conflicts.

The shake-up affected 13 portfolios, including housing, higher education, communications, youth and sports. However, key portfolios, most notably foreign affairs and defense, remain unchanged.

Candidates were nominated by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who met with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly earlier on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the president’s office.

The reshuffle seemed to focus on economic portfolios, with Ahmed Rostom, a senior economist at the World Bank, being named minister of planning and Mohamed Farid Saleh, the chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Authority, heading the Ministry of Investment.

Meanwhile, the State Ministry of Information was also restored after being dissolved in 2021. Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the State Information Service, was named as its minister.

Two women ministers were also included in the new line-up; Randa al-Menshawi now heads the Housing Ministry and Gihane Zaki has been named the minister of culture.

Egypt’s economy has been hit hard by years of austerity measures following an International Monetary Fund program adopted in 2016, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and, most recently, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthi attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea have also slashed Suez Canal revenues, a major source of foreign currency, after the attacks forced traffic away from the canal and around the tip of Africa.

IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, told Sky News Arabia earlier this month that Egypt showed strong commitment to achieving the economic reform program’s objectives and implementing difficult measures and that a final review of Egypt’s economic reform program was in near completion.

However, the reform measures have increased daily living costs for most Egyptians, including fuel prices and subway fares, as the Egyptian pound slid against foreign currencies. Around 30% of Egyptians live below the poverty line, according to the latest figures by the Egyptian government.

A Tuesday report by the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics showed the annual inflation rate across the country at 10.1% in January, compared to 10.3% the month before.

In 2025, the government raised the minimum monthly wage for both public and private sector workers to 7,000 pounds ($138), up from 6,000 pounds ($118.58).

The last cabinet reshuffle was in July 2024.