Egypt: Investing in peace and shared prosperity

Decades of economic and social progress followed the peace settlements that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War. The achievements made during those decades continue to shape the world today. Safeguarding these hard-won gains is a shared responsibility that rests upon all members of the international community. Peace remains, unequivocally, the indispensable pillar for achieving prosperity and stability for all.

Investing in peace requires consistency in upholding the principles of international law as well as a firm rejection of double standards. The Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, stands as a tragic testament to the erosion of justice, accountability, and lack of respect for international laws and norms. Depriving the Palestinian people of their fundamental right to self
-determination and their most basic rights can never lead to a just or sustainable resolution of the conflict.

A viable path towards peace and stability in the Middle East must rest on a balance that guarantees the Palestinian people’s right to exist in an independent state, while also addressing Israel’s security concerns. Collective efforts must, therefore, focus on ending the Israeli occupation and realising an independent State of Palestine on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

US president Donald Trump’s plan represents an important stepping stone towards achieving a sustainable and lasting peace in the region.
A permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the restoration of the legitimate Palestinian Authority’s governance in the strip, preventing the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of the Palestinian people from their territory in Gaza and the West Bank, would pave the way for implementing the Arab-Islamic plan for the reconstruction and early rehabilitation of Gaza. This plan presents a clear political vision to revive the two-state solution and to ensure security and protection for both Palestinians and Israelis.

As a pioneer of peace in the region, Egypt remains unwavering in its commitment to promote peace, security and stability, not only in Gaza, but also across neighbouring conflict zones, such as Libya and Sudan. The dividends of sustainable development depend primarily on stability and security, but equally on fairness, equality and inclusion.

Today’s global challenges – ranging from climate change and food insecurity to water scarcity, soaring debt levels and widening inequalities – demand urgent and coordinated multilateral action, in order to enhance the current international architecture, guided by the principles of solidarity, cooperation and shared responsibility. Revitalising multilateralism is no longer a policy option; it is an essential prerequisite for effective global governance.

Just as the Bretton Woods institutions played a central role in rebuilding post-war Europe, they and other multilateral development banks, are now called upon to make renewed investments in peace and shared prosperity. Yet the widening development finance gap, coupled with declining official development assistance, rising public debt and limited access to concessional finance, underscore the urgent need to reform the global financial architecture.

Such reform must ensure that the business models and financing capacities of international financial institutions and development banks are equitable, responsive and fit for purpose, to deal with the needs and priorities of developing countries. It should enhance the voice and representation of developing countries in global economic governance, decision-making and norm setting. It should also include an improved international debt mechanism to support debt sustainability, as well as establishing innovative financing mechanisms, such as debt swaps.

I call upon the G20 leaders to seize the opportunity provided by the Johannesburg Summit to take concrete steps towards reforming the global financial architecture and to launch a comprehensive mechanism capable of addressing the escalating debt crisis facing both low- and middle-income countries.

Convening a G20 summit on African soil, for the first time, is timely and helps shed light on the continent’s vast potential and pressing priorities. In partnership with the South African Presidency, Egypt was proud to host a G20 meeting dedicated to food security – a central issue to human dignity and sustainable development. At Johannesburg, Egypt seeks to place peace and development at the forefront of discussions.

We count on the G20, as a credible international forum, to advance practical solutions to the world’s intertwined crises and to deliver tangible outcomes that promote peace, development and shared prosperity for all. 
This article was written on 8 October 2025.