Organisation of Islamic Cooperation elects Mauritanian diplomat as new secretary-general

Dubai: Foreign ministers from the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) elected Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as the group’s next secretary-general on Thursday.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed will succeed Chad’s Hussein Ibrahim Taha, who took office in November 2021 and whose term is due to end in November 2026.

The appointment brings a veteran diplomat with more than three decades of experience in international affairs to the OIC’s headquarters in Jeddah, including years working with the United Nations and in some of the region’s most difficult political and security crises.

Under the OIC charter, the secretary-general serves a five-year term that may be renewed once.

The position is filled by the Council of Foreign Ministers according to principles that include equitable geographical distribution, rotation and equal opportunity, while also taking into account competence, integrity and experience.

The charter does not establish a fixed sequence for passing the post among the organisation’s Arab, African and Asian groupings. Instead, rotation and fair geographical representation guide the selection process.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s candidacy had already received continental backing. In February, the African Union formally endorsed him for the OIC secretary-general position for the 2027-2032 term, listing Mauritania within the Northern Africa region.

His election places a Mauritanian diplomat at the helm of one of the world’s largest intergovernmental organisations, whose membership stretches across the Middle East, Africa and Asia and represents a broad range of Muslim-majority states.