African Economies will Flourish in 2025

In October the IMF described a “two-track growth pattern” in sub-Saharan Africa. On one track are most of the 23 countries with sizeable exports of non-renewable commodities such as oil, gold or diamonds. These include Angola, Nigeria and South Africa. As prices for their exports sagged, their GDPs per person have dropped in the past decade. Most resource-rich countries have also been focused more on dividing the spoils of the boom years than on using the proceeds to build resilient economies.

Trump’s 2.0: Testing Period for Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

The shifting geopolitical landscape in West Asia has become particularly evident after the Saudi Arabia-Iran rapprochement. Despite the prevailing instability in the region exacerbated by the Gaza crisis, the détente between these arch-rivals has opened diplomatic channels to bolster cooperation. Amid rising pragmatism in the Gulf, Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections has brought United States policy in the region into the spotlight.