US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due in Cairo today ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry tomorrow, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Talks will focus on bolstering bilateral ties and advancing cooperation on “key regional issues,” according to the State Department. Tillerson is expected to offer US help on counterterrorism and “raise human rights and democracy issues,” the AP says.

Egypt is the first leg of Tillerson’s Middle East tour, which will also take him to Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. The trip will reportedly focus mainly on stabilization and reconstruction after Daesh’s territorial defeat.

It’s interest rate week: The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday to review rates. It’s the only opportunity for a rate cut (and declaration of victory in the “war on inflation”) ahead of the presidential poll.

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