As the newly appointed secretary general, he faces a fiendishly difficult job at a critical time for most Arab countries and the wider Middle East.
Most Arab citizens have a negative view of the 81-year-old AL, seeing it as an archaic, inefficient institution that made no achievements in confronting the many challenges facing their countries, topped with ending Israel’s illegitimate occupation of Palestine, which has been the organisation’s central issue since it came into being. Yet, like every inter-governmental institution or alliance, the strength or weakness of the AL depends mostly on its member nations, and whether they actually want the body in question to be active and influential, or simply to remain as a front and reminder of unfulfilled hopes and aspirations. Unfortunately, in the case of the AL, divisions among its member states have been a trademark feature, weakening the organisation and limiting its effectiveness.
Because the seven founding nations in 1945 were aware of the fear that one key Arab country or another might dominate decision-making, they made it a condition that all resolutions must be reached by consensus, and not by a simple majority. This has traditionally placed many obstacles in the way of decision-making, especially after the gradual increase in its number of members to 22. The AL ended up unable to take decisive steps, and became better known for issuing lengthy and repetitive resolutions that were never carried out.
Making matters worse, the wave of the so-called Arab Spring revolutions in 2011 have simply led to the disintegration of several key Arab countries after they became involved in lengthy, bitter civil wars. This stripped the organisation of traditionally influential nations such as Syria, Libya and Yemen. Iraq’s saga had started even earlier following the illegitimate decision by former US president George W Bush to invade and occupy the country in 2003, opening the door to a bloody, sectarian war that has negatively impacted the whole region.
While the norm in Libya and Yemen since 2011 has been the existence of two competing governments fighting each other in different parts of the country, Sudan too fall into the chaos trap following the hopeful, democratic revolution of 2019. The situation deteriorated further after an endless war broke out between the Sudanese armed forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in early 2023, causing a massive humanitarian crisis and famine in parts of the country.
Adding the heartbreaking, disastrous genocidal war that Israel has continued to wage on Palestinians in Gaza for nearly three years, killing over 73,000 people and levelling nearly all of the densely populated Strip, and the extremely dangerous and shaky situation in the Arab Gulf and Lebanon following the US-Israeli war on Iran, becoming the AL Secretary General is nothing to envy. But what creates space for some hope is Fahmy’s considerable experience, which qualifies him to perform an effective job. Besides being descended from a family of career diplomats, topped with his late father, former foreign minister Ismail Fahmy, who served Egypt at a very critical time in its history during the 1973 War against Israel, the AL chief himself has much experience in diplomacy.
Fahmy served in several prestigious positions for over four decades. He was the top aide to former foreign minister and AL Secretary General Amr Moussa, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States for nearly a decade, and later the country’s foreign minister during another rocky stretch in Egypt’s recent history, following the massive popular revolt against the short, failed rule of the Muslim Brotherhood on 30 June, 2013. At that critical time, Fahmy managed to steer the world’s public opinion away from false claims made by supporters of the now outlawed Brotherhood, explaining with patience and strong arguments how the decision to oust them put an end to a serious risk to Egypt’s future and its people’s unity.
Combining diplomatic with academic credentials, Fahmy later held the position of dean of political and social studies at the American University in Cairo, enlarging the department and providing unique input for students and scholars. This impressive CV, the wide network of relations Fahmy built through his career and his deep knowledge of Arab and world including United States politics all qualify him to make a difference. Such experience and his own personal, quiet style will also be of help in dealing with various leaders of the Arab world, hopefully bringing them to renew the commitment to joint Arab action.
Equally important is that Fahmy is taking over his position at the AL in what look like different times for the region and the world. The latest war between Iran and the US-Israel has proved the urgent need for restoring joint Arab action and taking the lead in making decisions related to their interests. Indeed, while maintaining strong bonds with the world’s superpower, the United States, remains a strategic choice for most Arab countries, that alone has proved to be insufficient to ensure security and stability in the region.
AL Secretary General Fahmy will certainly need to work on reviving inter-Arab coordination and reaching common stands, but he will also probably play an important role in setting new rules in relations between Arab countries and key non-Arab regional powers, namely Iran and Turkey. While many in the Arab world stood against the US-Israeli war against Iran, seeing it as needlessly impeding their political and economic interests, most Arabs do not want to see any major regional power seeking to dominate the region to serve its own interests. Developing new arrangements that serve the interests of both the Arab Gulf countries and Iran must be a top agenda item for the new AL chief.
Equally important is the fact that Fahmy is expected to play an influential role in mobilising the world in support of Palestinian rights, topped with establishing their own independent state, and to call for an immediate end to Israel’s racist occupation. At no time since its creation in 1948 has Israel seen such level of isolation worldwide due to its criminal practices against the Palestinian people, especially during the latest war on Gaza. Fahmy has more than enough experience and skill to present the just Palestinian and Arab demands to the world, and to explain how Israel has become the key source of instability and endless war in the region. Israel not only destroyed Gaza and restored occupation of the tiny Strip, it also inflicted massive destruction and death in Lebanon, mainly against civilians, including 1.3 million people who were forcibly displaced from their homes.
Adding to Fahmy’s many challenges is the need for the AL to support ongoing efforts to end civil wars in Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. Indeed, outside interference and conflicting regional and world interests have played a key role in sustaining those internal wars. Yet the new AL secretary general can play an important role in bringing the direct conflicting parties together and having them commit to prioritising the common interests of their countries and peoples by ending their bloody wars and working together on solutions.
This is a long wish list for sure, but there is hope that emerging regional realities will help Fahmy play a positive role that serves the interests of the Arab peoples.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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