If the debacle of last week’s conference in Doha to discuss the future of Afghanistan is any guide, 2024 will probably be another bleak year for the Afghan people.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently made an important visit to Saudi Arabia. This was the first such visit by a sitting secretary-general and will hopefully serve as the starting point for closer NATO-Arab relations in the coming years.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows no sign of a peaceful conclusion. Meanwhile, the world remains focused on Israel’s war on Gaza. Sometimes it seems that policymakers have all but forgotten about Afghanistan.

During a conference on Arctic issues hosted this week by the Russian Geographical Society, Russian officials spoke of the need to increase scientific and educational cooperation “between Russia and friendly countries” in the High North.

With the world focused on the fighting between Israel and Hamas, the sabotage of an important natural gas pipeline 3,200 kilometers away to the north of Gaza went almost unnoticed.