Politics and Governance

Presidential elections in South Korea will be held on 9 March 2022.

The main contenders for the presidential run are Lee Jae-Myung of the Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-Yeol of the People Power Party. These elections will be crucial for the future of democracy in South Korea. The main issues that the voters would be considering while casting their votes are corruption, political polarisation, soaring housing prices, and expanding disparity. But these fundamental issues are overshadowed by controversies of one candidate’s affair with a shaman and the other for abuse of power. Political analysts consider this election the most “foggiest” that the country has seen as no candidate has an edge as a clear winner.

Lebanon will conduct its presidential elections on 27 March 2022.

The parliament of Lebanon initially voted to conduct the legislative elections on 19 October 2021, then was expected to be in May but eventually confirmed 27 March 2022 as the final date. Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government has a few more months in office and finds itself in the middle of an economic meltdown and would have to agree on another International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. It will be the first election since the resignation of Hassan Diab’s cabinet in the wake of the horrific blast in the Port of Beirut in August 2020. The country has been suffering major devaluation of its currency against the dollar and shortages of medicine and fuel.

The anniversary of 60 years of Algerian independence will be marked on 19 March 2022.

Algerians achieved their independence after fighting a horrific battle against France’s 132 years of colonial rule. The war ended after eight years in the Evian Accords signed on 18 March 1962. Six decades later, the ghosts of the horrific war still haunt the memories of both countries. Conflict on the number of killings remains where a stark difference in the numbers recorded by French and Algerian historians can be observed. France has struggled to “apologise or repent” for its action during the rule but, after 40 years, officially accepted it being a war.

Defence and Security

The World Defense Show will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 6-9 March 2022.

The event will provide the opportunity for the defence industry to discuss and cooperate on the latest innovations and security solutions in the defence industry. The aim of the show is to incorporate and encourage interoperability between the different domains of the defence sector, i.e. air, space, land and sea. This interoperability will help in ameliorating the defence system. It will also include leaders from the government sector and experts from the industry to interact on defence endeavours. The industry is evolving steadily with innovations, and the leaders must make choices that could help and complement the pace. The show will be held every two years in Saudi Arabia to discuss new innovations and scope for the industry.

Helicopter Association International is organising Hai’s Heli-Expo 2022 in Dallas, Texas, from 7-10 March 2022.

The expo is considered one of the world’s largest trade shows and is focused on vertical aviation. The show will provide a platform for new buyers from around the world, strengthen the relationship with consistent buyers, and provide opportunities for partnership with professionals in the industry. The buyers and industry professionals will be able to interact throughout the show. Moreover, new products will also be launched with global coverage where demonstrations will be delivered on the technicalities, providing awareness and competition.

Energy and Environment

Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development will be held in Rwanda from 3-5 March 2022.

The theme for the event is ‘Building forward better: A green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063’. The event is organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) before the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2022. It will also call upon other regional forums and discuss the developments and share their experience regarding policies and practices that will help achieve the Sustainable development Goals and 2030 Agenda while considering the regional practices and priorities.

The Second Segment of Minamata Convention COP-4 will be held in person in Bali, Indonesia, from 21-25 March 2022.

The first segment of the event was organised from 1-5 November 2021 after the Bureau decided that the session will be organised in two sessions due to the pandemic, one a virtual one in November and the other in-person in March. The event was first organised in August 2017 to address the heavy amount of mercury in the environment. It will continue to highlight the issue while taking the diverse opinion of experts on the risks of increasing mercury in the environment and ways to curb it.

Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022 is set to happen from 7-9 March 2022.

The forum is summoned by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The forum will include other regional players to measure the progress and share the knowledge of local practices that could help attain the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda while prioritising the regional practices and priorities.

Trade and Economics

74^th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be held in Lyon from 7-11 March 2022.

The meeting will include members and experts who could review policies and devise strategies on matters specifically affecting the execution of the convention. The committee will discuss new international forest policies and new resolutions on CITES, the role that CITES can play in avoiding diseases that can potentially be transferred from animals during wildlife trade, the inclusion of indigenous communities in the conservation of wildlife and forest and encouraging their sustainable use. Different reports on wild animals will also be included, along with other environment-related issues.

The 3rd Annual International Conference on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be held on 27 March 2022 in Lahore, Pakistan.

The conference will focus on the theme, ‘China’s One Belt One Road Initiative: Managing Connectivity, Diversity, Economy and Security.’ Covid-19 pandemic and other economic and political events have contributed to the dispersion of trade, business and supply chains throughout the world. This event will focus on new challenges CPEC and BRI in terms of economy, security, diversity, connectivity and trade. The BRI initiative will bring China to the centre and connect the world at large with technology and innovation. Academics from the fields of Economics, Accounting, Finance, International Relations, Marketing, Law, Strategic Management and other related fields will be welcomed at the conference.

Social Issues

56^th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 56) will take place in conjunction with the Working Group III (IPCC 56) and WGIII AR6 Approval Planery (WGIII-14) is set to happen from 26 March to 1 April 2022.

The event will focus on the approval of the contributions of the WG III to AR6 which evaluates the climate change mitigation. This will be the sixth assessment cucle of IPCC where the Six Assessment Report (AR6) will be presented along with three other important reports: The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) released in October 2018; the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) issued in August 2019; and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) which was released in September 2019. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) will also be further refined by a Methodology Report by the panelists.

A preparatory Meeting for Stockholm+50 will be held in New York on 28 March 2022.

The UNGA President is bound to arrange a preparatory meeting before the meeting of ‘Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all-our responsibility, our opportunity,’ which will be held in June 2022. There will be a practice session for leadership dialogues that will include discussion on:

• Leadership Dialogue 1: to acknowledge the need for actions to achieve “a healthy planet and prosperity for all”.
• Leadership Dialogue 2: Recovering from Covid-19 Pandemic.
• Leadership Dialogue 3: ‘Accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.’