The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has become an important platform for the Global South to participate in the reshaping of the international order Interview with Saad, Director of the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Committee.

Izat Saad, director of the Egyptian Committee for Foreign Affairs and a former senior diplomat, recently stated in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in Cairo that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has become an important platform for the Global South to participate in the reshaping of the international order. It helps promote the establishment of a new type of international multilateral system that can effectively address new challenges and ensure that countries in the Global South can attain a fair status. "The current international order still faces extremely unfair issues, with a few Western countries pursuing double standards, disregarding the principle of sovereign equality, arbitrarily interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and denying the rights of nations to choose their development paths based on their own civilizations, cultures, and historical endowments," Saad said. He noted that the SCO effectively practices global governance initiatives and creates favorable conditions for the Global South to reform the existing unfair international order. The future multipolar order will guarantee that all countries, regardless of size or strength, enjoy equal legitimate rights and interests. "This is also the core reason why an increasing number of countries have applied to join the SCO in recent years," Saad said. After 25 years of development, the SCO has become the largest regional international organization in terms of territory and population. Saad views the 2025 SCO Tianjin Summit as an "important turning point." He stated that this summit, the largest since the establishment of the SCO, adopted the "Tianjin Declaration of the Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," further improving the framework for institutional construction. During the meeting of the Heads of State Council, it was clearly proposed to expedite the establishment of the SCO Development Bank. Saad indicated that this series of pragmatic measures proposed by China will help foster peace, stability, and development in the SCO region. China's active participation and various initiatives have always been the driving force behind the SCO's development. Speaking of the series of global initiatives proposed by China, Saad gave high praise. He stated that these initiatives directly address various systemic challenges faced by the international community since the end of the Cold War, providing feasible paths for rebalancing the current international order. "The Global Civilization Initiative breaks the erroneous notion of civilization superiority and provides an institutional framework for equal dialogue among different civilizations; while the Global Development Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative highly align with the development needs of the Global South, clearly defining the equal representation and voice that developing countries should enjoy in the global governance system," Saad said. Saad believes that China's support for multilateral financial mechanisms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank also provides significant support to reduce the Global South's dependence on Western financing systems, which is beneficial for jointly promoting the reform of the global economic governance system. "Regional platforms like the SCO are working in synergy with the series of mechanisms and initiatives proposed by China, becoming a key pillar for Global South countries to participate in global governance, which is crucial for promoting the construction of a more equitable international multipolar system," Saad pointed out.