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ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore

From 30 July to 4 August, Singapore is hosting a series of ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On Saturday, 4 August, the ASEAN Regional Forum will bring together the foreign ministers of the ten ASEAN states and their international partners to take stock of regional integration, trade, security and other issues. North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also expected to attend, meeting his regional and international counterparts for the first time since the warming of relations between the two Koreas as well as Pyongyang and Washington.

First set of US sanctions against Iran to take effect 

Following the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the US will be re-imposing secondary sanctions against Iran. The first set of sanctions, which will take effect on 6 August, will target trade in gold and other key metals, as well as aviation and the car industry. Despite the re-imposition of US sanctions, the European signatories are still negotiating with Iran over how to save the nuclear deal. However, according to the French foreign minister, they are when the remaining set of US sanctions will hit.

20 August 

New currency rollout in Venezuela 

In an effort to curb inflation and stabilise the economy, Venezuela will roll out a new currency on 20 August, slashing five zeroes off the refurbished Bolivar rather than three as originally planned. The new currency Bolivar Soberano (Sovereign Bolivar) will also be linked to the recently launched state-backed Petro cryptocurrency. Venezuela’s economy has been in steady decline since oil prices plunged in 2014 and the by the end of the year.

Greece to conclude ESM bailout programme

Greece is set to exit the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) stability support programme on 20 August, ending eight years of bailout. Eurozone members had reached a final agreement in June that includes another 15 billion euros in new credit to be used as a ‘cash buffer’ to support investors’ confidence and facilitate market access. However, Athens will remain under surveillance and has to stick to austerity measures and further reforms. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has but also stressed that the Greek people must be able to enjoy concrete benefits of the recovery quickly.Ìý

Pope Francis to visit Ireland

Pope Francis is set to visit Ireland on 25 and 26 August for the conclusion of the World Meeting of the Families event. He will be the first pontiff to travel to Ireland since 1979 when Pope John Paul II drew crowds of over 2.5 million people. This time, however, the Pope’s visit is expected to also draw public protests in light of the abuse scandals in the Irish Catholic church.  

Possible agreement on NAFTA deal 

Mexico and the United States have expressed optimism that a basic agreement on updating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be reached by the end of August. Renegotiations on NAFTA have been underway for a year but had stalled after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Mexico and Canada and both countries responded with tit-for-tat measures on US products.Ìý

• 9 August: International Day of the World’s Indigenous People 
• 12 August: International Youth Day 
• 19 August: World Humanitarian Day 
• 23 August: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition 
• 29 August: International Day against Nuclear Testing 
• 30 August: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances