Sisi, National Defence Council meet to discuss army budget

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi headed on Sunday a National Defence Council meeting where they discussed the army’s 2016-2017 budget as well as a number of pending domestic and regional issues, state news agency MENA reported.

Article 203 of the constitution stipulates that the National Defence Council is tasked with discussing the army’s budget.

In the domestic field, the council discussed the security plan for the country in the next period, as well as measures taken by the cabinet to control the hiking prices of basic goods.

El-Sisi ordered that any illegal attempt to monopolise commodities or increase their prices by merchants be thwarted.

The council also discussed the latest efforts to eradicate a decade-long Islamist militant insurgency in North Sinai, which escalated three years ago.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry discussed the results of the recent Paris peace conference to reinitiate Palestinian-Israeli talks.

The council meeting was attended by parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Defence Minister Sedky Sobhi, army Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy, foreign affairs minister Sameh Shoukry, as well as the ministers of interior and finance and the heads of the general and military intelligence services.

source: Ahram Online