Mauritanian diplomat and former foreign minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been elected secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), succeeding Hissein Brahim Taha.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed was elected during the 23rd Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers at the organization’s headquarters in Jeddah on Thursday. He later took the oath of office in the presence of foreign ministers from OIC member states.
Addressing the session, the new secretary general described his election as the greatest honour of his career and pledged to fulfil the expectations of member states through concrete action.
Meanwhile, Palestine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, thanked Saudi Arabia for convening the meeting and reaffirmed her country’s commitment to the Palestinian cause.
She condemned Israeli attacks in the region and called on OIC member states to take practical political and legal measures to hold accountable those responsible for settler violence.
Shahin also warned that incursions and attempts to alter the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability.
