CAIRO - Reshuffling six ministers in his 26-strong Cabinet, Egypt's New Prime Minister and his government ministers were sworn in Monday by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, removing officials chosen by ousted President Hosni Mubarak. In the second Cabinet reshuffle in six weeks, Sharaf appointed six new ministers, including veteran, popular figures for foreign, interior, justice and oil ministries as well as two ministers for culture and manpower. After the swear-in ceremony, the full-member Cabinet held talks with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the council, on the challenges of the current, crucial stage of Egypt's history. The meeting focused on means to restore stability and security in the Egyptian street as well as resuming production in all state sectors, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. Sharaf has kept in his Cabinet ministers of electricity, international co-operation, the environment and military production, who served during the Mubarak era. Earlier in the day, Premier Sharaf bowed down to demands by hundreds of protesters, mainly archaeologists, who asked for the newly separated ministry of antiquities affairs not to be remerged in the ministry of culture. "I accept your demand to maintain the ministry of antiquities," Sharaf told protesters from the balcony of the Cabinet headquarters in downtown Cairo. The protesters blocked the road to the Cabinet and the Parliament, where Army personnel tried to help the flow of traffic and maintain security in the downtown area. Sharaf's Cabinet was not finished until early yesterday, when he held a meeting with Mohamed Abdullah Ghorab, who was later appointed as minister of oil. Ghorab, a CEO of State-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, later pledged to make oil products available for local needs, stressing that the oil sector had deals with foreign partners. "We hope our co-operation continues and we are committed to our deals," said Ghorab, referring to a gas export to Israel that has been in place four years ago. Minister of Interior el-Eissawi, meanwhile, said policemen would return to their posts within a week at most. El-Essawi, who accepted his post on Sunday, added that he had instructed the chiefs of Cairo and Giza security departments to order policemen to resume their duty as soon as possible. Nabil el- Araby, a former International Court of Justice judge, who was named a foreign minister, replacing Ahmed Abul Gheit, was hailed as a good choice by protesters and ordinary people, despite 'reservations' by Israeli officials, who described him as not a friend of Israel. The reshuffle marks the latest reforms enacted by the ruling military council, which has appeared more responsive to the demands of groups that rose up against Mubarak in mass protests and swept him from power on February 11. The military council hopes the new Government will find acceptance among Egyptians and restore confidence, enabling the economy to start moving again.
