The House of Representatives will kick off debate on the Ismail government’s proposed 2017-18 budget next week. The document passed cabinet last week. The Finance Ministry held a press conference, complete with infographics (in Arabic only, unfortunately), explaining what the proposal entails. The key highlights were as outlined last week. The one thing that stood out was the government’s optimistic intent on delivering Egypt’s first primary surplus in a decade with a target of EGP 11 bn. Debate is due to begin on 10 April, according to Parlamany.