The fate of the Ministry of Investment will be decided after the conclusion of the parliamentary election, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid has said.
The responsibilities of resigned Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohie Eddin were entrusted to Rachid in late September, following Mohie Eddin's appointment to a director position at the World Bank.
In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Rachid said the duties of the Investment Minister will likely be distributed to the rest of the ministries. Observers predict the ministries of trade and finance will carry out the functions of the Investment Ministry.
Rachid added that he has discussed possible scenarios with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif at the cabinet meeting on Sunday.
In other developments, Rachid said that he will meet on Wednesday with the board of directors of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and the Cairo Chamber of Commerce to discuss their ideas regarding a proposal to have shops close early.
"I asked them to review what other countries are doing," he said." We're not going to reinvent the wheel."
"They also have to see which shops can close early and how shopping malls which host cinemas would implement such a decision."
He added that government officials have not yet made up their minds and will submit the matter to public dialogue.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
