Cairo: Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi was on Saturday sworn in for a second term in office, pledging to pursue all out reforms after his landslide win in a March election.
“Since I assumed my post [in 2014] I have worked out a plan based on expediting reforms at all political, economic and societal levels, in addition to security confrontation of perils besetting Egypt,” Al Sissi said in his inaugural speech in parliament.
Al Sissi, a former defence minister, gained nearly 97 per cent of the valid votes cast in the March election, which pitted him against a little-known politician.
On Saturday, the Egyptian leader reached out to the opposition.
“I believe that every difference adds strength to us. My top priority will be to create common ground, which will not exclude anyone other than the one who has opted for violence, terrorism and radical thinking as a way of imposing his will,” Al Sissi said.
“Egypt is for all. I am a president for all Egyptians, including those who back me and those who do not.”
Egypt has seen a spate of deadly militant attacks since 2013 when the army, then led by Al Sissi, ousted Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following mass protests against his divisive rule. Security has been largely re-established in the country since Al Sissi took office. In February, the army started a large-scale offensive in North Sinai, a desert hotbed of armed extremists, believed to be linked with Daesh.
At the beginning of his address, Al Sissi asked his audience to observe a minute of silence in memory of hundreds of security forces killed in militant assaults.
“Together, we have faced sinister terrorism that sought to undermine our dear nation’s unity. Together, we have withstood undertaking challenges spawned by a heavy legacy of economic, social and political challenges,” the 63-year-old president said.
He promised that promoting education, health care and culture in his country of nearly 95 million people will top his priorities in the second four-year tenure. “This will be pursued through launching a package of major national projects and programmes aimed at raising the living standards of Egyptians.
Over the past four years, Al Sissi has launched a series of mega projects aimed at reviving Egypt’s economy battered by the unrest that followed the 2011 uprising, which forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak to resign.
In recent years, Egypt has pursued ambitious economic reforms that included painful austerity steps that the government has said were unavoidable and overdue.
“I will spare no effort, delay no work or shrink from confronting a problem,” Al Sissi said on Saturday.
He added that his administration has introduced a network of social safety measures in order to cushion “negative” effects of economic reforms.
