Finance Minister Amr El Garhy will appear before the House of Representatives to discuss fiscal policy. It remains an open question whether he will answer questions from MPs on the agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a USD 12 bn extended fund facility.

Also in the House this week: The State Contractors’ Compensation Act is due to come up for discussion before the House as a hole, and the House Industry Committee is due to resume discussion of the automotive directive, a package of measures designed to protect domestic assemblers against unfair competition from Turkish, Moroccan and European Union imports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to arrive in Cairo on Thursday (2 March) for talks on terrorism and illegal immigration. She will be joined by a business delegation, Al Mal reports. Merkel will be meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Pope Tawadros II, and Al Azhar’s Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, according to the newspaper. Speaking at a conference, Merkel — who praised Egypt’s “bold economic reform measures” — said she is looking forward to further discussions on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and Libya, Ahram Gate reports.

The Tax Authority is meeting with representatives from EGPC to discuss the tax treatment of IOCs this week, according to Al Borsa. IOCs are concerned about their suppliers having to pay VAT, arguing it amounts to an effective additional tax not stipulated in the production sharing agreements between them and state entities including EGPC and EGAS.