The Egyptian parliament approved on Tuesday a list of new ministers amid a cabinet reshuffle of nine ministries. New ministers include Ali Meselhy as Minister of Supply and Internal Trading, Hala El-Saeed as Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform, Abdul Moneim El-Banna as Minister of Agriculture, Tarek Shawky as Minister of Education, Omar Marwan as Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mohamed Hesham El-Sherif as Minister of Local Development, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar as Minister of Higher Education and Hesham Arafat as Minister of Transportation. Moreover, the ministries of investment and international cooperation were merged together and will be led by Minister Sahar Nasr. Four deputy ministers were also designated, including three for the Ministry of Agriculture and one for the Ministry of Planning. The list was sent to the parliament by the cabinet on Monday. Also on Monday, Prime Minster Sherif Ismail announced the merger of two other ministries. Ismail added that four deputies will be appointed for each minister. Ismail said that the change is part of the government's economic and social reform plans. He stated that choosing the new ministers will rely on each minister's ability to achieve the current phase's goals and that there are certain standards that need to be met in order for them to be elected. Ismail further stated that a number of ministry candidates disagreed to take the offered positions, stating that it is very challenging to be a minister concerning the current situation in Egypt. Meselhy, the head of the parliament's Economic Committee resigned on Monday. Several media outlets reported that the reason behind his resignation is that he will be part of the new cabinet reshuffle and that he will replace Dalia Khorshid as the Minister of Investment. Meselhy—in order to take his position as minister—has to resign from parliament, in accordance with Constitutional Article 164, which stipulates that no one is allowed to combine "membership in the government and membership in the House of Representatives." In mid-January, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi declared in an interview with national newspapers that there will be a cabinet reshuffle for certain ministries. Al-Sisi can decide a cabinet reshuffle in accordance with Constitutional Article 147, which states that the "President of the Republic may relieve the government from carrying out its duties—subject to the approval of the majority of the members of the House of Representative—and may conduct a cabinet reshuffle after consultation with the Prime Minister and approval of the House of Representatives by an absolute majority of the members present, which must not be less than one third of its members." Egypt witnessed the last cabinet reshuffle in March 2016, when 10 new ministers were appointed, including the ministers of finance, investment, and tourism. Ismail has been leading the cabinet since 2015.
