The roundtable series, organized jointly by ACPSS and the Kemet Boutros Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge as part of preparations for the Arab Strategic Report 2025, brought together senior diplomats, academics, strategic experts, military analysts and researchers to examine the impact of global and regional transformations on Egypt’s national security and foreign policy. Across three sessions, participants explored the future of the international order, the evolving regional landscape and Egypt’s strategic position amid mounting geopolitical uncertainty.
Participants stressed that profound geopolitical shifts are redefining the country’s security environment and demanding a comprehensive reassessment of strategic priorities.
They agreed that the international system is undergoing a structural transformation rather than a temporary phase of instability. The gradual decline of the post-Cold War order, they argued, is giving rise to a more competitive and fragmented multipolar environment in which major powers increasingly rely on technology, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, cyber capabilities, economic resilience and control over strategic supply chains alongside conventional military strength.
These developments, they said, are reshaping global power balances and creating a more unpredictable international landscape in which states must continuously adapt to preserve their strategic interests.
The discussions highlighted that the Middle East is experiencing a parallel transformation. Participants noted that the region has become an arena where regional rivalries intersect with global competition, producing a more fluid geopolitical environment marked by overlapping conflicts, shifting alliances and expanding external involvement.
Arab states, Iran, Turkey and Israel are pursuing competing strategic visions, participants argued, while major international powers continue to deepen their political, economic and military engagement across the region, making regional crises increasingly connected to broader global dynamics.
Experts stressed that these developments carry direct implications for Egypt because of its pivotal geographical location and longstanding regional role. They argued that Cairo’s strategic environment now extends beyond its immediate borders to encompass the Eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, the Gulf and the wider Arab region. As a result, Egypt faces the challenge of safeguarding its national interests while responding to interconnected political, economic and security developments across multiple theatres simultaneously.
The first roundtable focused on transformations in the international order and the implications of intensifying competition among major powers. Participants observed that international institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to manage conflicts as strategic rivalry deepens and consensus among leading powers weakens. They emphasized that future international influence will depend not only on military capabilities but also on innovation, technological leadership, industrial competitiveness and economic resilience.
The second session examined the changing regional order and the competing projects shaping the Middle East. Participants argued that the region is undergoing a comprehensive geopolitical restructuring in which security has become closely linked to energy routes, maritime trade, digital infrastructure and technological development. They warned that the weakening of traditional regional frameworks has created greater opportunities for external intervention while underscoring the need for stronger Arab coordination based on shared strategic interests.
The third roundtable assessed Egypt’s place within this evolving strategic environment. Participants reaffirmed that Egypt’s regional influence continues to rest on a combination of geography, diplomatic experience, military capability and political stability. Preserving these assets, they argued, requires continuous adaptation to changing international realities while maintaining balanced relations with competing global powers and strengthening cooperation with Arab and African partners. Rather than pursuing rigid alignments, they called for a strategy that preserves Egypt’s strategic autonomy and maximizes diplomatic flexibility.
Throughout the discussions, participants emphasized that national security can no longer be defined solely in military terms. Economic resilience, technological advancement, cybersecurity, food and water security, energy diversification and innovation were identified as integral pillars of comprehensive national security. Countries capable of integrating these dimensions into coherent long-term strategies, they argued, will be better positioned to navigate an increasingly volatile international environment.
The roundtables also underscored the growing importance of strategic planning and evidence-based policymaking. Participants called for stronger links between research institutions and decision-makers, arguing that long-term strategic forecasting has become indispensable at a time when governments face multiple overlapping crises and rapidly changing geopolitical realities. Effective policy, they said, requires anticipating future trends rather than simply reacting to unfolding events.
Another recurring theme was the importance of diversified international partnerships. Participants cautioned that growing polarization within the international system makes excessive dependence on any single global power increasingly risky. Instead, they advocated maintaining balanced relations with multiple international partners while expanding economic, technological and security cooperation wherever national interests converge. Such an approach, they argued, would enhance Egypt’s room for manoeuvre and reinforce its strategic independence.
The discussions also highlighted the importance of strengthening regional cooperation through practical initiatives focused on common interests, including infrastructure connectivity, food security, energy cooperation, technological development and coordinated responses to transnational challenges. Participants argued that such pragmatic cooperation would better serve regional stability than traditional institutional approaches that have struggled to keep pace with changing geopolitical realities.
Concluding the roundtable series, participants agreed that Egypt’s principal strategic challenge lies not simply in responding to successive regional crises but in adapting to an international system characterized by continuous change and intensifying competition. They stressed that preserving national interests will depend on the country’s ability to combine diplomatic agility, institutional strength, economic resilience and strategic foresight. In an era defined by uncertainty, they concluded, Egypt’s capacity to anticipate change, diversify its partnerships and maintain strategic flexibility will remain among its most important national advantages.
The three ACPSS roundtables formed part of the intellectual preparations for the Arab Strategic Report 2025, providing a platform for leading Egyptian experts to assess emerging global and regional trends and their implications for Egypt’s strategic choices in the years ahead.
Short link: