Jeddah: Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, a Mauritanian diplomat and former foreign minister, has been elected as the new secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The election took place during an extraordinary meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where discussions also centered on Palestinian statehood and recent developments concerning Jerusalem.

According to Anadolu Agency, Ould Cheikh Ahmed, aged 66, will succeed Chad's Hussein Ibrahim Taha, who has held the position of OIC secretary-general since late 2021. Taha's term is set to officially conclude in November. Ould Cheikh Ahmed brings extensive diplomatic experience to the role, having served as Mauritania's foreign minister from 2018 to 2022 and as the United Nations secretary-general's special envoy for Yemen from 2015 to 2018.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed's previous roles include serving as deputy special representative of the UN secretary-general and as resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for the UN Support Mission in Libya in 2014. From 2012 to 2014, he was the UN humanitarian coordinator and UN Population Fund representative in Yemen, and he held similar positions in Syria from 2008 to 2012. In addition to his native Arabic, he is fluent in both French and English.

The OIC, which is the world's second-largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, comprises 57 member states. Its primary focus is on addressing issues affecting the Muslim world, with particular emphasis on the Palestinian national cause and the status of Jerusalem.