São Paulo – Egypt’s former Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, will be the new secretary-general of the Arab League starting July 1st, replacing Nabil Al-Arabi, also a former Egyptian Foreign Minister.
The appointment of Aboul-Gheit was made by Egypt’s government and his name was approved in a League meeting held last Thursday (10) in Cairo. According to information published on the website of the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, his name was met with resistance by Qatar and Sudan, but the choice was confirmed after negotiations mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
After the approval, Aboul-Gheit thanked the support offered by the Egyptian government and said, according to the Al Ahram: “I feel the responsibility placed on my behalf to work to raise the status of the Arab League and defend the interests of the Arab nation”.
Aboul-Gheit, 73 years old, was the minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt from 2004 to 2011, and was the last one to hold the position in the term of Hosni Mubarak, president ousted in January 2011 during the Arab Spring after staying in power almost 30 years.
A diplomat, he served as permanent representative of Egypt in the United Nations in New York. In the early 1990s, Aboul-Gheit held the post of head of office of the then Egyptian Foreign Minister, Amr Moussa – who later became secretary-general of the League –, and in 1992 was appointed ambassador in Italy. The top League post is traditionally occupied by an Egyptian diplomat, which was the case in six of the seven last secretaries-general, according to the Al Ahram.
Aboul-Gheit was born in Cairo in 1942. He graduated in business management in 1964 by Ain Shams University in the Egyptian capital.
Brazil
The diplomat visited Brazil in 2009, when was Egypt’s FM, and was welcomed by then president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In 2010, Egypt signed a trade agreement with Mercosur, which isn’t in effect yet because it still needs to be ratified by Argentina.
On Friday (11), the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) released a statement congratulating Aboul-Gheit for being appointed. “Brazil has strong relations with the Arab League and its members, reflected in its significant trade exchange with the Arab countries, reaching the level of USD 19.2 billion in 2015”, says the statement.
The League keeps a permanent mission in Brasília and the Brazilian ambassador in Egypt is also the country’s special representative for the organization. Last year, according to Itamaraty, Brazil and the Arab League signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation and political consultation.
The Arab League was created in 1945 and currently has 22 country-members from the Middle East and North Africa. The organization’s headquarters is located in Cairo.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
