Arab League’s Aboul-Gheit Hails Cairo for support despite Qatar, Sudan objections

The new secretary-general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, appreciated Cairo’s support for his nomination after initial objections from Qatar and Sudan.

The veteran Egyptian diplomat, who was foreign minister under Hosni Mubarak, said in press statements on Thursday that he was grateful for “the responsibility and trust” placed in him by Egypt’s current leadership.

“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 added.

The Arab League held an exceptional session on Thursday to vote on the successor of outgoing Secretary-General Nabil El-Arabi, after both Qatar and Sudan objected to Aboul-Gheit’s nomination. Aboul-Gheit won the position after mediation by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to convince the Qatari and Sudanese representatives.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamed Bin Abdel Rahman Al-Thani said in press statements that his country in the end supported Aboul-Gheit’s nomination “despite our reservations about the candidate himself,” in order to safeguard Arab cooperation.

An Arab diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that Qatar’s reservations were due to Aboul-Gheit’s “hostile positions” towards the Gulf state.

Doha accused Aboul-Gheit of pushing Cairo in 2009 while he was foreign minister to boycott a Qatari-proposed Arab summit to discuss an Israeli offensive against the Palestinian Gaza Strip, diplomats told AFP.

According to the report, they also criticised him for adopting a soft approach towards Israel.

In 2012, Qatar rejected the nomination of Egyptian diplomat Mustafa El-Fekky; Cairo in response nominated El-Arabi, then Egypt’s foreign minister.

Aboul-Gheit, who will take office on 1 July, has been out of public life since March 2011 when he left his post as foreign minister.

He served as Egypt’s foreign minister from 2004; prior to that he was the permanent representative of Egypt at the UN headquarters in New York.

The post of Arab League secretary-general is typically filled by an Egyptian diplomat.

source: Ahram Online