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Description: In what was deemed as the most serious troop commitment to date, Sweden has sent up to 550 troops in Latvia to join a Canadian – led mission on NATO’s eastern flank. The battalion arrived in a port in Riga and was escorted by Swedish air force and Latvian navy forces. Sweden would enhance and strengthen NATO’s defense along the eastern flank and would add to the deterrence and defense capabilities of Latvia since the country borders Russia and Belarus on their eastern and southeastern parts of the border. Impact: With the Ukraine – Russia war raging on, countries from the Eastern European bloc would further elevate military readiness and enhance
Description: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Chief, General Hossein Salami, was shown on national state television as he disclosed Iran’s latest underground naval base, somewhere in the Gulf. The base would reportedly be home to vessels capable of launching long – range missile strikes that specialized in distance warfare. The disclosure comes in light of Trump’s appointment as US President in fear of further sanctions and authorized military strikes from Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Impact: Iran’s evident military buildup could both be considered as a deterrence mechanism against mounting future tensions with Israel but also as operational co
Description: Presidents of Iran and Russia have met in Moscow as they signed the Strategic Alliance Cooperation agreement. The agreement would entail further close cooperation in the defense, economy and trade sectors of governance between the countries but wouldn’t include the mutual defense clause. The presidents reportedly talked on several subjects that concerned both Russia and Iran, such as the current situation in Syria, the circumventing of sanctions and military cooperation and trade. Although a significant development, which affects global geopolitical dynamics, the agreement mostly concerned Russian and Iranian joint interests moving forward. Impact:
Description: The current BRICS President country, Brazil has announced that Nigeria would be the newest partner country in the multinational bloc of nations. Brazil announced that Nigeria’s efforts within the sectors of cooperation in the Global South as well as the country’s governance capabilities enabled the country to leverage its position on the African continent as one of the leading economies. Impact: Nigeria’s pivot towards BRICS indicates on prevalence in influence from leading geopolitical powers and members of BRICS such as Russia and China. Nigeria as one of the largest African economies especially in the oil industry, could represent a major ass
Description: In light of Trump’s inauguration as the President of the United States, the European Union and Mexico have bolstered trade cooperation. The announcement comes as Trump’s administration has publicly announced its intentions to introduce additional tariffs within the regional trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico known as the USMCA. In his previous term as President, Trump initially imposed the tariffs in the US steel and aluminum industry trade with Mexico, but since the upticks have been short lived, he ended the initially imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum towards Mexico and Canada. Impact: Mexico as part of the USMCA is threaten
Description: Three days before his inauguration, President – elect Donald Trump has announced that he had a productive phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Trade policies, the fentanyl pandemic, TikTok and Asia – Pacific relations were one of the subjects that the presidents talked about. China and the US have collided over several geopolitical issues in the past such as the Taiwan question, trade market dominance and control over the Asia – Pacific region but in spite of that, officials from both the US and Chinese cabinet assessed the conversation as a positive starting point moving forward. Impact: US – China relations is one of the most in
Description: French President Emmanuel Macron has conducted a meeting with newly – elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Macron urged on rapid withdrawal from the Israeli army still deployed on Lebanese territory and emphasized the need for Lebanon to reestablish a sovereign governance and independent military apparatus. He had also announced that France would host an international reconstruction conference for Lebanon since severe investments were necessary to rebuild the Lebanese infrastructure. Impact: Macron’s visit to Lebanon only enhances the country’s geopolitical attractiveness at the moment. Macron’s visit also aimed to represent added value to Fr
Description: Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) officials have stated they would leave the country under the condition the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), an allied party, remains in control of the north – eastern parts of the country. PKK which has been in a constant insurgency conflict with Turkey over the last 40 years, is one of the many interested parties of assuming power in Syria after Bashar al – Assad’s fall last month. Turkey has threatened with military action if the SDF, a close US regional ally isn’t disbanded and all senior PKK members removed from its leadership structure. Impact: With Syria on the outskirts of existing as a country, several groups
Description: The US has announced the imposition of sanctions on Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as the civil war in the country continues to rage on and inflict severe humanitarian crisis. The sanctions comprised of prohibition of arms sales, and the freezing of assets owned by Abdel Fattah al – Burhan outside of Sudan. The sanctions also undertook the rival leader of the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, indicating equal US treatment over the involved parties in the conflict. Impact: With the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF expanding, the imposition of sanctions could be considered as a step towards forcing both s
Description: Romanian Ministry of Energy has flagged the potential sale of E. ON Energie Romania to Hungarian’s MVM Group as a national security risks as concerns over their connection to Gazprom and the Russian government have been raised. Shadow influence of the Russian government within MVM Group has been identified from the Romanian Foreign Direct Investment Energy Commission which additionally prompted the Romanian government on enhanced oversight and possible transaction seizure. Impact: E. ON Energie is one of Europe’s largest energy and oil producers and suppliers and its potential sale to MVM Group could deepen Europe’s energy dependency on Russia.