Aman Birbo

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) entered into force on May 30, 2019, for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments of ratification. The AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of...

The global price of coffee fell to historic lows in 2018, with the price of Arabica beans decreasing by as much as 25% from October 2018 to February 2019. Several factors are affecting this volatility in global coffee prices. One particularly salient one is Brazil, which is...

The technology behind blockchain is rapidly developing as it promises new economic, business, social and technological models that can pervasively impact the manners in which business and...

Currencies in emerging markets slid following concerns sparked by the current selloff in the Turkish Lira, which is spreading to other countries. The Turkish Lira depreciated over 10% since yesterday against the United States Dollar after policy corrections from the nation’s central bank failed to alleviate the nation’s looming debt issues, causing investor fears to worsen. The selloff in the Turkish Lira is creating a contagion effect on other emerging economies such as South Africa, India, Mexico, and Argentina. That has further driven a widespread selloff in these markets as investors are

Djibouti is facing a significant debt to China. The Belt and Road Initiative has provided a means for smaller, less developed countries to finance desperately needed infrastructure projects. However, some additional financing does go to other unneeded and unsustainable projects, causing heavy debt burdens. Djibouti is positioned to take on public debt worth around 88 percent of the country’s overall $1.72 billion GDP, with China being own a large portion of this figure.

United States of America President Donald Trump escalates trade war tensions with China as he threatens further tariffs, tweeting that trade wars benefit America. The ensuing policy considers imposing 25% tariffs on an estimated $200 billion USD worth of Chinese goods, which is much higher than the initially estimated 10%. On August 3, 2018, China confirmed that in retaliation it plans to release a list of $60 billion USD worth of American goods that will be hit with analogous tariffs.

Since taking office after the resignation of his predecessor in February 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has made significant reforms in the political landscape of Ethiopia; the most notable of which is his policy of rapprochement towards Eritrea. On June 5th, 2018, the new Prime Minister agreed to fully implement the Algiers Agreement. The Agreement was signed in 2000 by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in accordance with the demarcation of the border boundary set forth by the boundary commission to end the 1998 Ethiopia - Eritrea war and cede land to Eritrea. This landmark move has

Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh is expected to travel to the Eritrean capital of Asmara later this week to engage with direct bilateral talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Some consider this meeting a final hurdle for Eritrea to overcome in order to have United Nations sanctions over the country lifted. The meeting is also viewed as renewing regional optimism to the recently obtained peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as fostering East African economic integration.