The Cairo – based 22 – member league has been dominated by Egyptian diplomats since its inception in 1945.
Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday re-appointed a former Egyptian diplomat as secretary-general of the Cairo-based Arab League.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former ambassador to the United Nations and the last foreign minister in Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak, won the support of Arab foreign ministers meeting in the Egyptian capital.
During the talks, Aboul Gheit expressed his hope in making progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his new five-year term.
“Today marks a new opportunity with the new American administration taking over power levers to pave the way and launch a true peace process, based on international law, a framework and a lasting solution – and not just negotiating for the sake of negotiation, ”said Aboul Gheit.
In January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced that Cairo would nominate Aboul Gheit for a second term as leader of the 22-member bloc.
The 78-year-old was the only nominee for the post, as it is a long-standing protocol that Egypt as a guest of the Arab League will traditionally name the head of the league since its inception in 1945.
Aboul Gheit was a foreign minister in Egypt for the last seven years of Mubarak’s reign, leaving his post in 2011 after the revolution that affected Mubarak.
Aboul Gheit is known to have been a pragmatic diplomat with strong envy for political Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
He has been vocal against Turkey and Iran, two highly influential regional powers in the Arab world.
He has also criticized the 2011 uprising that invaded the region and led to the overthrow of four long-term independent rulers, but also sparked three civil wars.