Jan-Jun 2022
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French presidency of the European Council
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France/ EU
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During France’s presidency of the European Council, the country has pushed for deeper European integration in areas such as defence and fiscal rules. The presidency comes at a moment of transition in the EU’s leading member states with a new chancellor in Berlin following the German September 2021 elections, and French President Emmanuel Macron will continue to promote his and France’s EU leadership role. |
23 Jun 2022
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BRICS Summit |
Russia/India/Brazil/China/South Africa
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Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the BRICS Summit in Beijing. The theme will be "Foster a Global Development Partnership for the New Era to Jointly Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and the event will be held virtually. |
26th - 28th Jun 2022
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G7 Summit
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Global |
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The summit in Schloss Elmau (Germany) will also host other countries including Senegal, South Africa, India and Indonesia. The rising global inflation, cost of living and continued Ukraine crisis will likely be key issues. |
27th Jun - 1st Jul 2022
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2022 UN Ocean Conference
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Global
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The conference in Lisbon (Portugal) will focus on innovation and technology solutions to support mobilising action for the conservation and sustainable use of maritime resources. |
29th - 30th Jun 2022
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit
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Global |
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Held in Madrid (Spain), the 2022 NATO Summit will adopt NATO’s new Strategic Concept, the document that defines the security challenges the alliance faces and how these will be addressed. |
28th Jul - 8th Aug 2022
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2022 Commonwealth Games
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Commonwealth nations
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The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham (UK). 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth will compete across 19 different sports. |
9th Aug 2022
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Presidential and legislative elections
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Kenya
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General elections are due in Kenya on 9 August 2022. Kenyan elections have been volatile in the past, most notably in 2007 when ethnic-based post-election violence resulted in around 1,300 deaths and up to 600,000 people displaced. President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga in 2018 agreed to introduce a package of political reforms intended to ease ethnic-based tensions around elections. However, attempts to push forward have raised political tensions and progress has stalled following a High Court ruling in May 2021. As a result, there is significant uncertainty over the conditions under which the 2022 elections will be held; while a repeat of 2007 levels of violence is unlikely, this uncertainty will raise tensions. |
Oct - Nov 2022
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Second Russia-Africa Summit
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Russia/Africa |
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The first Russia-Africa Summit was held in Sochi, Russia in 2019. The second event will be held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Like another major investor in Africa – China – Russia sees significant trade opportunities after the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) came into effect on 1 January 2022. |
2nd Oct 2022
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Presidential and legislative elections
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Brazil
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General elections are scheduled to be held on 2 October 2022 to elect the president, the 27 state governors, one-third of the 81 seats in the Senate (upper house of the National Congress), and all federal and state deputies. If candidates for the executive branch do not receive more than 50% of valid votes, a runoff election will take place on 30 October 2022. Political polarisation is likely to intensify and, although widespread civil unrest is unlikely, pro- and anti-government demonstrations will become more frequent and occasional clashes among protesters or with police forces are likely. |
30th - 31st Oct 2022
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Group of Twenty (G20) leaders’ summit
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Global |
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The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will convene in Bali (Indonesia). The G20 comprises 19 countries and the EU. The summit will focus on matters including equitable COVID-19 vaccine access, recognising the impact of the pandemic. |
Tentative Nov 2022
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20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
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China
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The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is a party congress that is held every five years. President Xi Jinping will likely seek to extend his leadership for another tenure. Energy, economic and environmental issues will likely be key issues under discussion. |
7th - 18th Nov 2022
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27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
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Global |
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Convened in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) COP 27 will enable the assessment of progress by parties to commitments agreed under the Glasgow Climate Pact (COP 26) and a further opportunity to agree co-ordinated action to address climate change. |
8th Nov 2022
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Midterm elections
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US
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The US elections will be held for all 435 seats of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate on 8 November 2022. This is the first national election since the 2020 presidential election. It will likely be a bellwether for President Biden’s and the Democratic Party’s approval more broadly ahead of the 2024 presidential election. |
21st Nov - 18th Dec 2022
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FIFA World Cup Qatar
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Global |
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The quadrennial tournament will take place for the first time in Qatar. The choice of Qatar as host nation proved controversial, and multiple national teams and other stakeholders have raised concerns about the country’s human rights record, particularly around labour rights. Activist groups will continue to urge businesses associated with the competition to raise concerns, and engage in a socially responsible way. Failure by businesses to meet activist groups’ expectations may incur reputational damage. |
