Former Egypt FM: Major Powers Should Strategically Take Lead in Stabilizing 2023

Against this complex backdrop, what will 2023 look like? Who should we look toward as the anchor of stability in the world?

Global Times (GT) reporter Yu Jincui recently interviewed Nabil Fahmy, former foreign minister of Egypt and visiting senior fellow at Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University.

Fahmy shared with Yu his insights about the pressing issues. This is the third piece of the Global Times series - "Looking for an anchor of stability in 2023."

Nabil Fahmy: I believe the situation in Ukraine is the black swan event of the past year because it brought back military confrontation to the European theater and revived the Cold War at the same time. For me it was the symptom of a disoriented, almost dysfunctional world order which continued to be based on post-WWII concepts of the balance of power and spheres of influence. So in fact many were surprised by it, and I had not projected it, but I was convinced that the world order had become increasingly unstable.

Nabil Fahmy: I will offer two flash points of note.

One is the use of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine, or the substantial targeting of Russian facilities within Russia's traditional borders. These could trigger a chain reaction of escalation that could easily spiral out of control.

The other flash point is egregious measures toward the Palestinians and the Sacred Haram al Sharif (also known as the Temple Mount) by the new right-wing Israeli government. These measures could easily provoke another intifada in addition to very high tension and confrontation with its neighbors.

Nabil Fahmy: If wisdom prevails and the tensions caused by the Ukraine situation instigate strategic and creative thinking about a new world order, this would be a tremendous opportunity that needs to be embraced by global leadership like United Nations Secretary General, China's leadership and leaders from the developing world such as those of Egypt, Brazil and India.

Nabil Fahmy: I think the world is facing a Perfect Storm with the breakdown of the global international order, regional imbalances and challenges and domestic problems all at the same time. The world is moving toward more disorder based on transactional power and material politics, while disrespecting international law and the United Nations Charter will create an era of disorder preventing us from dealing with global challenges like poverty, nuclear proliferation and climate change.

Nabil Fahmy: These global challenges are insurmountable significantly if the major powers don't significantly and strategically take the lead. They will suffer the most from the consequences of inaction because they are the biggest and strongest powers. Both need to embrace policies based on "a balance of interests" rather than "a balance of power" and this should include the interests of the whole world at large.

Nabil Fahmy: The summit was of major significance. Cooperation between China and the Arab world has increased exponentially over the years. China is the largest trading partner of many Middle Eastern countries, and the region is China's main source of energy. The significance of the summit was multifold － it was a political statement highlighting cooperation, it expanded and diversified areas of cooperation and it was substantially forward-looking. In essence it was a highly attractive action plan which I am confident will be mutually beneficial.

Nabil Fahmy: It was a source of confidence for the Arab world, because it reflected Arab readiness and capacity to diversify. It also was a source of inspiration because it talked of shared goals, mutual respect and opened many new avenues of cooperation. It was also an opportunity for Arab leaders and the community to meet and better understand China's consistently growing leadership.