Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in on Tuesday at the head of a new government by the country’s newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi

Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in on Tuesday at the head of a new government by the country's newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in the capital, Cairo, and state television aired live footage from the swearing-in early in the morning hours.

The government of 34 ministers — including four women and several technocrats — is led by Mahlab, who also served as the interim premier for the past five months.

The former military president had summoned the ministers to a palace in northern Cairo at 6 a.m. for a ceremony that began promptly, an hour later.

The prime minister echoed the need to move quickly, promising an energetic, focused and better coordinated regime. "There is no time for rest," Mahlab was quoted as saying on the front page of the state’s Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

"We will start our work from the early hours of the morning as there is a strict plan and new technique of work to tie all the ministers to work together and not work as if they were isolated islands," he added.