The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which took effect Jan. 1, involves more countries than any other trade bloc on Earth. Of the 55 member states of the African Union, 54—all but Eritrea—have signed on to the treaty, which aims to create a single market through the elimination of tariffs on 90% of all goods by 2022.
March 26, 2018, is a day Marko Đurić, Serbia’s new ambassador to the United States, will never forget. On that Monday, Đurić—at the time chief negotiator for Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija—was meeting with local Serbs in the town of North Mitrovica when he was violently detained for having crossed into Kosovar territory illegally.
With Saudi Arabia’s March 22 ceasefire offer collapsing within hours of being made, Yemen’s years-long conflict shows no signs of abating, as renewed U.N. peace efforts remain stymied and the specter of colossal humanitarian disaster looms large yet again.
In “The Middle Way: How Three Presidents Shaped America’s Role in the World,” Derek Chollet argues that American foreign policy is more effective when it draws inspiration and guidance from the centrist approach of three former American presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama.
As wealthy Western countries carefully guard their national stockpiles of COVID-19 vaccines, raising concerns about “vaccine nationalism,” China and Russia have moved aggressively in the opposite direction — toward vaccine diplomacy.
The Kremlin’s increasing military activities in the Arctic worry many countries, but especially Norway—the only NATO member state that borders Russia north of the Arctic Circle—and Denmark, whose kingdom includes the world’s largest island, Greenland.
“The world has faced two ‘once-in-a-century’ crises in the past 12 years,” says economist Mohamed Aly El-Erian. “To avoid making the same mistake of a muted recovery, leaders must restore counter-party trust and invest in the recovery through measures enhancing high, inclusive and sustainable growth.”
It’s been almost 10 years since seven women launched a group at the State Department aimed at improving work-life balance at the agency. Today, that group has 3,000 members and has redefined how the department operates. It also has a lot more work to do.
René León Rodríguez’s tenure in Washington spanned the administration of three U.S. presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — as well as three presidents of El Salvador.
Last month marked the 40th anniversary of a very British diplomatic coup. On Feb. 27, 1981, President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George H.W. Bush and the Cabinet sat down for dinner at the British Embassy as guests of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. With his presidency barely a month old, this marked the first time Reagan had set foot on foreign soil.
In a night that combined steadfast traditions and unparalleled circumstances, the International Student House of Washington DC (ISH-DC) last month held its annual leadership awards ceremony online.
The United States and Saudi Arabia are entering a new era in their 76-year partnership with the release of the CIA assessment finding that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “approved” the 2018 murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Yergin headlined the first of a series of “Thought Leaders” webinars hosted by the Washington-based National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC). More than 400 business leaders, D.C.-based diplomats and senior government officials tuned into the event.
Veteran diplomats Yousef Al Otaiba of the United Arab Emirates and Jeremy Issacharoff of Israel discuss the Abraham Accords and the prospects for Middle East peace.
The Polish and Lithuanian embasses in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6 jointly hosted an evening of solidarity with protesters opposed to the Lukashenko dictatorship in Belarus.
For Cuba-watchers waiting on President Joe Biden to end the embargo and throw open the gates of US trade with Havana, Robert Muse has some advice: Don’t hold your breath.
