Cairo / Anatolia

New Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy stressed Monday that there is an urgent need for vigilant Arab action, emphasizing that the world is going through a decisive moment.

This came during his first press conference with media after assuming his post as Secretary-General of the Arab League at the beginning of July.

Fahmy said: "The world is going through a decisive moment in which the rules of international law are undergoing severe tests, and the principles of politics and protection of civilians are receding before our eyes."

He added: "The international system is being rearranged and our Arab surroundings are witnessing expanding hotspots and multiplying costs of humanitarian, security and economic conflicts, but there are wide opportunities and horizons that can be exploited."

The Arab League Secretary-General stressed that "in the face of all this, we must not stand idly by," adding: "There is an urgent need for vigilant and proactive Arab action that protects Arab interests and does not leave the region's crises and resources to others."

At the beginning of July, the new Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy officially assumed his duties, succeeding his fellow countryman Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On June 22, the Arab League Council adopted Fahmy as Secretary-General of the league for a 5-year term, succeeding Aboul Gheit.

Nabil Fahmy is the ninth Secretary-General of the Arab League since its establishment in 1945, and the eighth chosen from Egypt, with one exception when the headquarters was moved from Cairo to Tunis in 1979, when the Tunisian Chedli Klibi assumed the post, following the signing of the peace treaty with Israel by former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Fahmy served as Egyptian Foreign Minister between June 2013 and July 2014, and also served as Egypt's ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2008, and to Japan from 1997 to 1999.

His father, Ismail Fahmy, also served as Foreign Minister during Sadat's era, between 1973 and 1977.