President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has emphasised the importance of maintaining security and stability during the economic conference due to begin in Sharm El-Sheikh on Friday.

He made the comments in a meeting on Thursday with the ministers of defence and interior, the armed forces chief of staff and the head of general intelligence.

Security has been upped since the beginning of this week ahead of the three-day economic conference that is due to start on Friday in Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai.

The conference is to address ways to position Egypt "as an attractive destination on the global investment map."

During the meeting, El-Sisi urged security officials to maintain the highest levels of vigilance over the coming days.

He also asked officials to prevent assaults on military, police, governmental or private facilities.

Attacks on economic targets in urban areas, such as electricity pylons and mobile-network stores, have been taking place on a near daily basis in recent weeks.

Civilians have often fallen victim during the attacks.

A week before the conference, El-Sisi announced a surprise cabinet reshuffle that removed interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim, who was appointed advisor to the prime minster on security issues.

Egypt has been facing a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, which escalated after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Militants have repeatedly attacked police and army sites and personnel in Sinai as well as other parts of the country, leaving hundreds dead and injured.

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