Arab FMs renew Aboul-Gheit's term as Arab League chief

Photo taken on March 3, 2021 shows the scene of the 155th ordinary session of the Arab League Council in Cairo, Egypt. Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to renew the Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit's five-year term. (Photo by Mohamed Asad/Xinhua)

CAIRO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to renew the Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit's five-year term.

Egyptian state TV announced the Arab foreign ministers unanimously agreed to Egypt's request to renew Aboul-Gheit's mandate as the pan-Arab organization's secretary general for the second term, during the 155th ordinary session of the AL Council.

"The esteemed council honored me with its confidence ... and I would like to express my sincere gratitude for this assignment and honor," Aboul-Gheit said in his speech during the session.

The first term of the 78-year-old secretary-general will end this June. He once served as Egypt's foreign minister from July 2004 to March 2011.