The British embassy in Cairo has announced that it will hold a press conference on Thursday hosting the British Minister for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt.

The conference, which is planned to take place at midday on 17 January at Cairo's Conrad Hotel, will tackle the UK G8 presidency and its proposed initiatives for the region.

Burt will also hold a Twitter question and answer session on Wednesday starting at 3:30pm under the hashtag '#ask_Burt', to answer all questions regarding Egypt-UK relations and political developments in the Middle East.

Burt is expected to arrive in Cairo on Tuesday. He is to meet with a number of Egyptian officials during his stay. British ambassador to Egypt James Watt stated to the Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the meetings will tackle the IMF loan to Egypt and the Syria crisis amongst other issues.

Watt confirmed that President Mohamed Morsi had already received an invitation last September to visit Britain and communication is still under way to set an exact date.