Qandil was meeting with the ministers, including Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr and Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said, a day before he was to formally unveil the cabinet, state- run Nile News reported.

A military official said that army commander Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who served as Hosni Mubarak's defense minister and then ruled the country after the dictator's overthrow, will be defense minister.

The premier also selected Ahmed Gamal al-Din, a former deputy interior minister, as his new interior minister.

President Mohamed Morsi last week chose Qandil, irrigation minister in the outgoing cabinet, to select a new team to carry out an ambitious plan to restore security and improve the economy.

But the military, which retains legislative powers after a court disbanded the Islamist-dominated parliament in June - just before Morsi took office - retains control of the budget.

It was also expected to have a say in the appointment of the foreign minister and finance minister, whose budgets were opposed by a parliament dominated by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Qandil had said he wanted a government of technocrats selected on the basis of their competence.

Secular allies of Morsi in the election opposed the appointment of Qandil, also said to be an Islamist. They also warned against a cabinet dominated by Islamists. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE