Cairo: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has approved a request from Kuwait, one of its six member nations, to keep the post of the bloc’s secretary-general for a second term.
The grouping confirmed the approval in a final declaration issued at the end of a summit of its leaders in Riyadh on Friday.
The GCC said its supreme council has agreed to Kuwait’s wish to keep the post for a second term after the tenure of the incumbent Secretary-General Nayef Al Hajraf, who is a Kuwaiti, ends on January 31.
The council expressed appreciation for “great, sincere and distinguished efforts” made by Al Hajraf during his term.
The tradition has it that the GCC secretary-general holds the post for two consecutive terms, each for three years.
Al Hajraf, an ex-finance minister, has been serving as GCC secretary-general since February 2020.
According to the grouping’s basic system, the secretary-general must be a GCC national and is appointed for maximum two terms.
The GCC comprises the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
