Ambassador/ Dr. Ezzat Saad’s Paper in the Fifth International Forum of Journalists and Bloggers from Muslim Countries Group of Strategic Vision “Russia-Islamic World”

September 25^th  – 28^th 2019- St.Petersburg

“Diplomacy in the Information Age … A Window to Good Governance”

The paper deals with the following points:

1)   The definition of good governance, its relationship with 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, whether political or economic.

• Standards of good governance in the information age, in connection with American practice, in particular in the era of Trump administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East.

• Some ideas on how to be effective in the age of a modern diplomatic system.

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”.

The western societies are witnessing negative developments in the information age in terms of lack of good governance standards in the context of advocating isolation rather than openness, as advocated by Trump administration, unlike other countries such as Russia and China, which call for more joint efforts to promote peace and security, common development and mutual benefits under several initiatives. In this context, it has to be noted that:

–   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.

–  Unilateralism and disregard of international legal obligations, which is highlighted in the U.S. unilateral withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement. 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 effectiveness in the new diplomatic order.