Global Events Forecast - April 2018

Parliamentary elections in Hungary

Parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary on 8 April. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose electoral campaign has been underpinned by a strong anti-immigration stance, is set to return to office for a third term, although his party Fidesz might not be able to defend the two-thirds majority it has held since 2010.

51st Session: Commission on Population and Development

From 9 to 13 April, the 51st session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD 51) will convene under the theme ‘Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration.’ The CPD is comprised of 47 states elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a period of four years. It meets annually at the UN headquarters in New York. 

Snap presidential elections in Azerbaijan

Snap presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan on 11 April, following the unexpected decision by President Ilham Aliyev to move the elections forward by more than six months. The move has drawn sharp criticism from domestic opponents, who suspect it to be intended to prevent them from properly preparing for the poll. 

8th Summit of the Americas 

Heads of state from across the Americas, including US President Donald Trump, will convene in Lima, Peru, on 13 and 14 April for the 8th Summit of the Americas. This year’s summit will be held under the theme “Democratic Governance against Corruption.” Peru has declared that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is not welcome at the summit, however, Maduro has vowed to attend the meeting anyways.

Arab League Summit 

On 15 April, the Arab League will meet for its annual summit (originally scheduled for March) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The meeting will take place amidst heightened security concerns and a series of divisive crises in the region.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Political leaders from the 53 Commonwealth nations will meet in London in mid-April for the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Theresa May has announced that the UK, which is chairing the Commonwealth of Nations from 2018 until 2020, seeks to use the forum to “reenergise and revitalise the Commonwealth.” In light of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the government is expected to push for closer trade ties with its former colonies.

First cinema in 35 years to open doors in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia will lift its long-standing ban on cinemas on 18 April, with Black Panther becoming the first film shown in Saudi Arabian cinemas in 35 years. The lifting of the ban is part of a host of economic and social reforms launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. 

Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group

The annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, will bring together central bankers, representatives of government, private sector executives, civil society actors and academics to discuss the global economic outlook and issues related to poverty eradication, economic development and aid effectiveness.

North and South Korean leaders to meet at landmark summit

North and South Korea have agreed to hold their first summit in more than a decade at the border village of Panmunjom on 27 April. At what will be the third-ever such meeting, the leaders of the two Koreas will discuss denuclearisation of the peninsula and prospects for improving inter-Korean relations.

• 4 April: Fiftieth Anniversary of the Assassination of Martin Luther King
• 7 April: World Health Day
• 19 April: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising