The IMF revises its economic projections upward. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Bretton Woods institutions' 190 member countries will meet virtually for their semiannual conference starting April 11, and have a full agenda that includes providing enough money to meet exceptional emergency needs created by the pandemic on top of revisions to the global macroeconomic outlook. The upward revision when the fund releases its new World Economic Outlook on April 6 nearly all is due to better than expected growth in the United States and China. There is concern about diverging global growth, with much of Europe going back into lockdown and resurgent virus outbreaks in some emerging economies such as Brazil. The uncertainty will not be resolved until vaccination campaigns are well advanced globally. The need for government support and resulting high public debt levels are also concerning, with the IMF estimating that poorer countries now need an additional $450 billion over the next five years. An IMF-World Bank led redesign of the global architecture for debt restructuring is urgently needed as countries divert money used to repay debt to budget needs. China has agreed in principle to participate more fully in debt relief, but getting private creditors involved remains elusive.

EU presidents in Turkey. European Council President Charles Michel and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on April 6 in the latest step in the rapprochement between Brussels and Ankara. The three leaders are expected to discuss an update of the EU-Turkey migration agreement (including additional money for Turkey), the updating of the EU-Turkey customs agreement and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Japanese premier visits the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on April 9, marking the first in-person meeting between a foreign leader and Biden since the latter entered office. Following up on earlier U.S. high-level official visits to Japan, this meeting underscores the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance as part of the overall U.S. strategy to counterbalance China in the Asia-Pacific region. It also comes as the United States is reportedly finishing its review of U.S. policy toward North Korea, raising the prospect of Biden-Suga consultations on the outcome of this process.

The EU sanctions Iranian officials. EU officials are preparing sanctions on eight Iranian officials and three Iranian entities in connection to crackdowns on November 2019 protests; the official announcement is expected next week, after the Easter holiday. The European Union has not sanctioned Iran for human rights violations since 2013, and the decision to proceed now is a sign that the European Union is getting impatient at the lack of progress on Iran opening up talks with the United States. Iran has rejected U.S. offers to start talks, holding out for sanctions relief as a precondition for talks. The longer Iran keeps a hard-line position, the more closely the EU and U.S. positions will align.

Coalition-building in Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is due April 7 to choose the first candidate to begin formal negotiations to form a government after March 23's inconclusive election. That candidate will then have 28 days to produce a coalition of 61 votes in the 120 member Knesset, or recent history will repeat itself and Rivlin will move on to another candidate. Who Rivlin will choose remains unclear. In past elections, Rivlin has gone with the largest party, but this time has signaled that he might choose a smaller party that he believes has a better chance of forming a government. Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have the most seats, Rivlin's change in position could mean that one of the long-time premier's rivals gets the first shot at breaking Israel's political impasse.