DIARY-Political and General News Events from January 29

Jan 29 (Reuters) -

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This diary is filed daily. Indicates new events
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 29

ATHENS - Greek Finance Minister and head of euro zone's finance ministers Kyriakos Pierrakakis meets European Central Bank's head Christine Lagarde in Frankfurt.

ANKARA – Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan will host Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Ankara. The two leaders will hold bilateral talks and later chair a meeting of the Turkey-Uzbekistan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

LUSAKA - Zambia's finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and central bank governor Denny Kalyalya address a townhall meeting on the economic outlook for 2026. - 0700 GMT

PANAMA CITY - Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino holds a bilateral meeting with Chile's president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, in Panama City. - 1530 GMT

PANAMA CITY - Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa attend an event to strengthen the economic and trade relationship between both countries at a convention center in Panama City. - 1630 GMT

ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis meets French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin in Athens to discuss bolstering military cooperation and security in the eastern Mediterranean. - 1545 GMT

MANILA - Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will make a two-day visit to the Philippines to attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) retreat for foreign ministers and related meetings (final day)

BEIJING - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer heads to China with two senior ministers and a business delegation, to try to secure stronger economic ties (To Jan. 31)

ABU DHABI - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will make an official visit to the UAE (final day)

BEIJING - At the invitation of Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will pay an official visit to China (final day).

HANOI - President of the European Council António Costa will pay an official visit to Việt Nam (final day)

VILNIUS - King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark will pay a state visit to Lithuania (final day).

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Qiang to hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

ATHENS - Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias meets French counterpart Catherine Vautrin on board a French-built frigate near Athens to discuss bolstering military cooperation and security in the eastern Mediterranean. The meeting will be followed by joint statements to the press. - 0830 GMT

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for talks in the Kremlin. - 1100 GMT

MACTAN, PHILIPPINES - ASEAN foreign ministers hold a retreat in central Philippines to exchange views on regional and international issues and set the bloc's agenda for the year.

MANILA - Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro holds a news conference after the ASEAN foreign ministers' retreat. - 0515 GMT

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron meets the President of Chad Mahamat Déby in Paris.

BERLIN - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz receives Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruiniene in Berlin - 1200 GMT

BERLIN - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruiniene hold news conference in Berlin - 1300 GMT

MACTAN, Philippines - ASEAN Foreign Ministers hold a retreat in central Philippines to exchange views on regional and international issues and set the bloc's agenda for the year.

ATHENS - Greece hosts energy summit in Athens.

BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council.

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 30

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to hold press conference with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Turkey

SAN SALVADOR - Chile's president-elect Jose Antonio Kast arrives in El Salvador as part of his Central America tour.

WARSAW - Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel will hold a joint press conference in Warsaw to discuss bilateral relations and European affairs. - 1345 GMT

TOKYO - Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi meets South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-Back in Yokosuka.

BERLIN - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomes Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruiniene in Berlin - 0900 GMT

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 31

TOKYO - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives in Japan for bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi following his visit in China.

ISLAMABAD - World Bank President Ajay Banga to visit Islamabad.

NEW YORK - 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

VENICE, Italy - Venice Carnival 2026 (to Feb. 17).

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1

TOKYO - Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel is embarking on his first bilateral state visit to Japan on Sunday. The four-day visit marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan.(To Feb. 4)

LONDON - Eight OPEC+ countries meet on Sunday to decide whether to maintain a pause in oil output hikes for the remainder of Q1 2026.

NEW DELHI - India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the country's 2026-27 budget on Sunday.

BEIJING - President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi will pay a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping (To Feb. 7)

LOS ANGELES - 68th Annual Grammy Awards

COSTA RICA - Costa Rican Presidency Election.

COSTA RICA – Costa Rican Legislative Assembly Election.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2

OSLO - Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, will travel to the Kingdom of Norway (To Feb. 4)

GENEVA - WHO Executive Board meeting opens.

TROMSØ, Norway - Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Arctic Norway. Greenland's foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt to speak at conference about Arctic affairs. Also attending: Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide (To Feb. 4)

BERLIN - German President Steinmeier receives Sloveniaian counterpart Musar in Berlin - 0900 GMT

GLOBAL - World Wetlands Day.

NEW YORK - 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (to Feb 3).

OSLO - Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt to speak at conference about Arctic affairs. (To Feb. 5)

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3

TROMSO, Norway - Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas address the Arctic Frontiers conference. - 1000 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Dubai hosts the World Government Summit (to Feb 5)

OSLO - Security conference in Oslo. Speakers include: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4

COPENHAGEN/NUUK - Governor General of Canada Mary Simon will travel to the Kingdom of Denmark including Greenland (To Feb. 7)

GLOBAL - World Cancer Day.

SAPPORO, Japan – 2026 Sapporo Snow Festival (to Feb. 11).

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6

NUUK - French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot opens a consulate in Greenland.

GLOBAL - International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8

SYDNEY - Israel's president Isaac Herzog will make a five-day visit to Australia for talks with federal leaders and will meet with survivors of the Bondi terror attack (to Feb 12).

PORTUGAL - Portuguese Presidency Election.

THAILAND - Thai Referendum Election.

THAILAND - Voting begins in Thailand’s national election.

TOKYO - President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, will visit Japan. (To Feb. 10)

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9

RIYADH - Prince William of Wales will make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia (to Feb. 11).

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10

GLOBAL - Safer Internet Day 2026

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11

BARBADOS - Barbadian House of Assembly Election.

BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence)

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12

BANGLADESH - Bangladesh Referendum Election.

CAPE TOWN - South African President Cyrl Ramaphosa delivers an annual state of the nation address to parliament. - 1700 GMT

BERLIN – 76th Berlin International Film Festival (to Feb. 22).

BEIRUT - 18th anniversary of the death of Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah.

VIENNA - VIENNA Opera Ball 2026

BRUSSELS - NATO defence ministers will meet in the Brussels headquarters. The meeting will be chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

BANGLADESH - Bangladeshi National Parliament Election

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13

GLOBAL - World Radio Day

RIO DE JANEIRO - Rio Carnival 2026 (to Feb. 21)

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14

GLOBAL - St. Valentine's Day

BEIRUT – 21st anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16

BRUSSELS – Eurogroup Meeting.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

PRISTINA – 18th anniversary of Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia

NEW ORLEANS - Mardi Gras 2026

BRUSSELS – EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

LONDON - London Fashion Week Winter 2026 (to Feb. 23).

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22

LONDON – EE British Academy Film Awards 2026

LAOS - Laotian National Assembly Election.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23

BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

WASHINGTON DC - U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington.

BRUSSELS - EU General Affairs Council.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26

BRUSSELS - EU General Affairs Council (Cohesion).

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27

CARACAS – 37th anniversary of deadly Caracas riots.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28

LONDON - The BRIT Awards 2026

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THURSDAY, MARCH 5

NEPAL - Nepalese House of Representatives Election.

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SUNDAY, MARCH 8

COLOMBIA - Colombian House of Representatives Election.

COLOMBIA - Colombian Senate Election.

SWITZERLAND - Switzerland Referendum Election.

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SUNDAY, MARCH 22

SLOVENIA - Slovenian National Assembly Election.

CONGO - Congo Republic to hold presidential election.

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