On May 14^th and 15^th 2018, Ambassador Dr. Ezzat Saad participated at the Fourth International Symposium on Modern Global Governance in Hangzhou, Southeast China, at the invitation of the Chinese Institutes of Contemporary International Studies (CICIR). His Excellency presented a working paper entitled “Diplomacy in the Information Age … A Window to Good Governance”, which included three main points as follows:

1)    The definition of good governance, its relationship to diplomacy in light of the information age and the challenges it faces under Western applications, which can be described as one of the bad forms of governance.

• Standards of good governance in the information age, in connection with American practice in the era of the new American administration.

• Discuss some ideas on how to be effective in the age of the modern diplomatic system.

He stressed that good and effective governance is one of the basic ways to make a fair and effective decision according to the criteria set by the United Nations, which affirms that good governance “must be accountable, transparent, rule of law, participation, inclusiveness, legitimacy, efficiency and justice”.

He also pointed out that digital diplomacy is one of the means of diplomatic work as a result of the technological progress of the modern era, which in turn influenced political concepts, systems of government and actors.

He also reviewed the negative developments witnessed by the Western society in the information age in terms of lack of good governance standards in the context of advocating isolation rather than openness, as advocated by the new American administration, unlike other countries such as China, which call for more joint efforts to promote Common development and mutual benefits under the belt and road initiative. In this context he pointed out:

–         The bias of some Western media and its lack of credibility, which is reflected in the handling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip.-         The use of force and pressure in the face of legal obligations, which is highlighted in the International withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, despite the commitment of other parties to it, and the declaration of the US administration to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in violation of all relevant international laws, rules and principles which affects the credibility of the United States and solving, regional crises.

–         The trade war in the face of free trade, through the imposition of US tariffs on Chinese goods and products and Chinese investment in the United States, which is conducive to further conflict and trade wars affecting the world economy, the international trade system and the role of the World Trade Organization.

–         Working outside the UN system, the Western tripartite strike led by the United States, Britain and France presages the beginning of a new era of threat to the stability, integrity and territorial integrity of States; these are principles affirmed in the Charter of the United Nations.

–         He concluded by discussing how diplomacy can cope with the modern era of information by working on the concept of digital diplomacy and its tools, especially that it goes beyond the concept of using social media, working to raise the skills of diplomats, and developing a special strategy for spreading the concept and developing tools for improving and enhancing the use of this tool from the tools of diplomacy.