CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with newly appointed Defense Minister Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Zaki June 19 during their first one-on-one meeting since Zaki was sworn in. In a brief statement issued that day, the Egyptian presidency said that Sisi had received the new defense minister yet did not give details of the meeting.
The Egyptian government has witnessed a major reshuffle with the appointment of Zaki as defense minister and Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Tawfik as interior minister. This is in addition to other newly appointed ministers from military backgrounds, including Lt. Gen. Younis Hamed al-Masri who took office as the minister of aviation and Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Sayed Abdel Hamid Shaarawi who was appointed minister of local development after having served as chief of national security.