Africa's top priorities for the 2026 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings

Ahead of the World Bank and IMF's 2026 Spring Meetings, host Landry Signé sits down with Regis N'Sonde, executive director at the IMF, and Harold Tavares, executive director at the World Bank, to discuss how their institutions are supporting their African members amidst new economic uncertainties. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Foresight Africa host Landry Signé speaks on the impact of the Trump administration's restrictions on new visas, which affects nationals of 30 sub-Saharan African countries, and the contributions of African migrants to the U.S. economy. He is joined by Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, and Nicholas Bassey, chief operations and program officer for the African Diaspora Network. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Following the reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on February 3, 2026, host Landry Signé kicks off the fifth season of Foresight Africa podcast with a conversation on the trade program's past and future. He is joined by special guests Florizelle Liser, president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa, and Ambassador Christopher Kirigua, deputy chief of mission at the Kenyan Embassy in Washington, D.C. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Season 5 of Foresight Africa podcast, hosted by Brookings Senior Fellow Landry Signé, launches in late February. In this season, Signé and his guests  look beyond the headlines to provide the strategic analysis needed to navigate today's complex economic, legislative, and policy agendas. Throughout the season, episodes will tackle the critical issues defining U.S.-Africa engagements ranging from the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act to the strategic implications of critical minerals and supply chains, energy security, trade and investment, and the growing role of AI and emerging technologies in fixing socioeconomic challenges. Stay tuned and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

In an exclusive interview hosted by Landry Signé, Anna Bjerde, the World Bank's managing director of operations, discusses the Bank's top priorities and challenges in achieving its mandate in a changing world. This interview was recorded on-site on Day One of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's 2025 Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. This is the final episode of season four of Foresight Africa podcast. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

In the final episode of our three-part series covering the 80th U.N. General Assembly, host Landry Signé interviews members of the U.N. and its partners on how the organization upholds international peace and security, including through its developmental support to fragile states. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

In this second episode of our special three-part series on the 2025 U.N. General Assembly, host Landry Signé brings together global leaders from government, business, and international institutions to explore how the United Nations is deepening its partnership with the private sector. As the U.N. marks 80 years, the conversation looks beyond diplomacy, highlighting its evolving role as a rallying force for CEOs, innovators, and policymakers driving global prosperity. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Host Landry Signé sits down with some of the world's top global leaders and stakeholders as they reflect on the United Nations' work at the heart of global peace, sustainable development, multilateral cooperation and institutional reform during this historic 80th General Assembly. This is the first episode of a three-part series reporting from the sidelines of the General Assembly. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Following the launch of a new report by Brookings' Africa Growth Initiative, host Landry Signé sits down with AGI scholars Ede Ijjasz-Vásquez and Vera Songwe to discuss how U.S. investments in mining can transform African economies while diversifying American access to much needed critical minerals. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Host Landry Signé and George Ofosu, assistant professor in comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, discuss Ghana's democratic trajectory, highlighting factors that have enabled it to become a regional bastion of democracy, while also exploring what more could be done to safeguard and deepen the quality of the country's democracy. Show notes and transcript Foresight Africa podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Afripods, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].