Manama: Abdul Latif Al Zayani, the new secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has pledged to build on the achievements of his predecessor to foster a greater integration of the alliance.
In a statement following the endorsement of his name by the six members of the Gulf bloc, Al Zayani said he was grateful for the trust reposed in him and looked forward to working together with all parties to reinforce the status of the GCC.
"I pledge before God that I will be honest and truthful to Their Majesties and Highnesses and that I will implement their orders with full dedication and sincerity," he said in the statement carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Al Zayani, the first Bahraini to hold the position since the alliance was formed in 1981, will assume his responsibilities on April 1 and will succeed Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, a Qatari national.
Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa named Al Zayani after a long and mostly silent dispute between Bahrain and Qatar over the earlier nomination of Bahraini Mohammad Al Mutawa which had threatened to mar their relations and undermine the GCC alliance. It took the direct mediation of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to resolve the issue.
The nomination of Al Mutawa, a former information minister and currently a state minister, was announced officially in June 2009 and was publicly endorsed by Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
However, Qatar objected to the name on the grounds of Al Mutawa's statements and positions during a bitter border dispute between Doha and Manama that was eventually settled by the International Court of Justice in March 2001.
