Kuwaiti media reports Al Hajraf to be named new GCC Secretary General

Manama: Kuwait’s finance minister Nayef Al Hajraf will be the next Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), reports in Kuwait said on Monday evening.

Oman was supposed to hold the position, but Muscat reportedly turned down the opportunity.

The choice of Al Hajraf was reportedly secured by Kuwait after it obtained the approval of the other member states.

According to the reports, Al Hajraf will hand in his resignation as Kuwait’s 19th minister of finance, a position he has held since December 2017, on Tuesday to pave the way for his official appointment.

Nayef Al Hajraf

Abdul Lateef Al Zayani, fro Bahrain, is the current Secretary General of the Gulf alliance that comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Al Zayani succeeded Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah, from Qatar, on April 1, 2011.

Al Hajraf

According to his biography, Al Hajraf has a vast experience in public and private sector management, education, and financial consulting.

Prior to his appointment, he served as Kuwait’s chief regulator of marketable securities in his capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and Managing Director of the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority (CMA) from 2014 to 2017.

During his tenure, the CMA matured into a world-class regulator and oversaw the privatization and development of Boursa Kuwait Securities Company, the operator of the country’s only stock exchange.

He has previously served as Kuwait Minister of Finance for a brief period in 2012, and Kuwait Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education from 2012 to 2014.

He was also member of the First Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority in 2010, and a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

Al Hajraf holds a Ph.D. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Hull, UK and a Master’s in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.