The state of political and economic turbulence is sure to carry over to the next year and even intensify. However, elections and conferences -- the most reassuring attempts to bring order and stability -- may provide a semblance of optimism

January:

1- Deadline for Syrian opposition and Syrian government to begin peace talks. It remains to be seen if the West and its allies in West Asia are willing to accept President Bashar Al-Assad as part of a solution

9: Sri Lanka’s Parliament is to be converted into a Constitutional Assembly. As Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena begins his second year in office, the process of scripting a more inclusive Constitution will begin (Picture)

16: Tsai Ing-wen, leader of Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which favours formal independence from China, is expected to win presidential elections.

This will come just months after a meeting between the Presidents of the two countries, the first since the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 (Picture)

23-31: African Union summit at Addis Ababa. The next year is the African Year of Human Rights

February:

1: Presidential primaries and caucuses in the U.S. get under way. In the world’s oldest democracy, the process of selection of the right candidate is as much a point of debate as the actual elections

March:

14: Europe’s Trace Gas Orbiter departs from Baikonur on a Proton rocket bound for Mars to help answer whether life exists, or ever existed on the Red Planet

April:

8-Ireland is to see general elections for the 158-member Dáil Éireann, its Parliament, by April-8

19-21: New York: UNGASS (UN General Assembly Special Session) on Drugs

May 5:

Elections to the Scottish Parliament, the first since a failed referendum that nearly saw Scotland exit the United Kingdom

May 9:

Philippine general election, 2016 to elect a successor to President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay

July:

19: Republicans and Democrats hold national conventions in Cleveland (July 19-21) and Philadelphia (July 25-28) to nominate their candidates for the White House

August 5: than 10,500 athletes from 206 nations compete at Rio 2016, when the Olympic Games get under way in Brazil

September 18: Legislative elections for the state Duma in Russia. Another platform for show of strength by President Vladimir Putin

October 1: Construction begins on a 180km gas pipeline from Greece to Bulgaria to help Sofia reduce its reliance on Russian gas

November 4: President Xi Jinping welcomes world leaders to the first G20 summit hosted by China

8, Elections for White House and Congress

December:

31 – The last remaining American, British and Australian troops will withdraw from Afghanistan.

Some other important developments:

a) U.S. lease on Diego Garcia lease is set to expire, with a provision of 20-year extension

b) Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to integrate the Central Asian Republics with Russia, is likely to sign a cooperation agreement with Latin American bloc Mercosur

c) The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), founded by China, is set to provide its first advances

d) Pakistan is to host a SAARC summit for the third time since the organisation came into existence three decades back