Egypt’s el-Sisi reappoints PM Madbouly, orders him to form new cabinet

President says new government must tackle local and international issues.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reappointed Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to form a new government.

Egypt’s presidency said in a statement on Monday that Madbouly, who has been prime minister since 2018, has been tasked with shaping a new and more capable government to tackle issues at home and abroad.

The statement said the new cabinet ministers must safeguard national security in light of rising regional and international challenges, combat “terrorism”, and tend to an ailing economy dogged by inflation and in need of more local and foreign investment.

“Today, I assigned Dr Mostafa Madbouly to form a new government that consists of the necessary expertise and competencies to manage the next phase, in order to achieve the desired development in government performance and confront the challenges facing the state,” el-Sisi wrote in a post on X.

There was no immediate announcement on when the cabinet would take office.

El-Sisi was sworn in for his third term in April after sweeping to victory with 89.6 percent of the vote in an election in December with no serious challengers.

He ordered the cabinet reshuffle as Egypt faces security and economic challenges while Israel’s war on Gaza rages on Egypt’s border.

In late May, a member of the Egyptian security forces was killed in a shooting with Israeli forces along the border with the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The Egyptian president has also been working with the United States, both in mediating a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and with getting life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinians after the Israeli takeover of Gaza’s border with Egypt last month.

As Egypt has tried to manage a chronic foreign exchange shortage and high inflation over the past two years, there had been speculation that Madbouly himself would be replaced.

This year, the economy has experienced some reprieve after an investment agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt agreed other international funding deals, including an expanded loan programme with the International Monetary Fund.