Ankara: Nabil Fahmy officially assumed his duties as the new secretary-general of the Arab League on Wednesday, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit, according to an official statement.

According to Anadolu Agency, on June 22, the pan-Arab body approved Fahmy, a former Egyptian foreign minister, as secretary-general for a five-year term, replacing Aboul Gheit, whose term ended Tuesday. In a statement, the Arab League said Fahmy assumed his duties as secretary-general during an official ceremony held at its headquarters in Cairo. It said Fahmy took over from Aboul Gheit, in the presence of assistant secretaries-general and a number of league officials.

Following the handover ceremony, Fahmy received briefings from General Secretariat officials on recent developments in political files and held a meeting with assistant secretaries-general to discuss priorities for the coming phase and the workflow across various sectors. According to the statement, Fahmy signed his first official correspondence addressed to Arab leaders to express gratitude and appreciation for the valuable trust they had placed in him.

He also signed letters to Arab foreign ministers containing an assessment of the Arab situation and proposals aimed at enabling the Arab world and the Arab League to confront existing challenges, pursue reform and development, and strengthen economic and social development efforts, it added.

Fahmy is the ninth secretary-general of the Arab League since its establishment in 1945 and the eighth Egyptian to hold the post, with one exception when the organization's headquarters was moved from Cairo to Tunis in 1979 following the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He served as Egypt's foreign minister from June 2013 to July 2014. He also served as Egypt's ambassador to the US from 1999 to 2008 and to Japan from 1997 to 1999. His father, Ismail Fahmy, also served as Egypt's foreign minister under former President Anwar Sadat from 1973 to 1977.