Reported by The Africa Report
With Congress out for a second week for the Easter holiday, the Trump administration has free rein in Washington to showcase its trade priorities.
Ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in mid-April, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will speak at the conservative Hudson Institute on Tuesday morning on the future of trade policy.
Following a remarkably disruptive 12 months known as “the year of the tariff,” Greer is expected to detail how the US intends to pursue the National Security Strategy’s stated goal of rebalancing global trade relationships and “consolidating our alliance system into an economic group” – a tall order made even more complicated by the global pushback against Trump’s war of choice in Iran.
The discussion is invite-only but will also air live here.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will address the Atlantic Council’s Thursday meeting to discuss how commercial diplomacy can advance US interests in Africa and around the world. America’s Number Two diplomat “will shed light on current priorities for the Department of State and how commercial diplomacy can be used in the pursuit of specific economic and security objectives”
On Friday, senior Africa bureau official Nick Checker delivers the keynote at the daylong Futures Summit on the topic of “a new era of development cooperation” at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Preparing for spring meetings
With the war in Iran disrupting the world economy far beyond the Middle East, African policymakers will be looking to the leaders of the Bretton Woods international financial institutions headquartered in Washington for guidance. The continent is particularly vulnerable to external shocks, especially if the war drags on and African countries face a “double squeeze” as rising fuel subsidy costs collide with weakening currencies and growing debt burdens.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga kicks things off Tuesday morning with a discussion at the Atlantic Council on the institution’s role in supporting job creation and economic development in a fast-changing global economy.
“Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people are expected to enter the workforce in developing economies, while only 420 million jobs are projected to be created,” the council writes. “President Banga will outline the World Bank Group’s priorities with a focus on jobs, resilience and the evolving development agenda.”
On Thursday morning, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva delivers a speech on the global economic outlook and policy priorities ahead of the 2026 IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings, followed by a conversation moderated by Michael Froman, President of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Heated rivalry
Meanwhile, the pitched battle between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for Trump’s support continues apace.
Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana will mark the 32nd anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide on Tuesday in collaboration with Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Kigali is keen to rebuild support for its cause in Washington after the US Treasury Department last month sanctioned its armed forces for their role in the conflict in eastern Congo.
To that end, the ambassador signed a six-month, $150,000 lobbying contract at the end of last month with a Trump-connected influence firm, newly disclosed lobbying records show. Skyline Capitol is led by former Congressman Chris Stewart, a Republican of Utah, a close Trump ally who was also a senior member of the House intelligence panel when the incoming Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia was a staffer there.
Meanwhile, the DRC is negotiating a deal with the Trump administration to take in deported migrants, our colleagues at Jeune Afrique report. The Congolese ministry of communications and media confirmed the scoop on 5 April, writing on X that Kinshasa “will implement, as of April 2026, a temporary reception facility for nationals of third countries, as part of a partnership with the US”.
Taking stock
In other news, today’s episode of the CSIS video series All About the Base assesses the impact of the war in Iran on global energy flows and unpacks the intersection of energy infrastructure and the industrial base.
On Tuesday morning, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosts Helima Croft, head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa Research at RBC Capital Markets, to discuss what the International Energy Agency termed the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
The Stimson Centre on Tuesday afternoon welcomes Portuguese Ambassador to the US Duarte Lopes for a fireside chat on Europe’s engagement with North Africa and the Sahel, Mediterranean security dynamics, and Portugal’s role in EU-Africa partnerships.
Meanwhile, Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service hosts the annual meetings of the Association of African Studies Programmes (AASP) on Thursday and Friday on the university’s campus in Washington, DC, for a day and a half of meetings on the current and future possibilities of African Studies. French journalist and anti-racism activist Rokhaya Diallo will provide the keynote.
Finally, Washington networkers won’t want to miss the DC Africa Policy Happy Hour on Thursday, starting at 5 PM. You can register here.