Egypt nominates Amr Moussa as Secretary-General of AL

Egypt has nominated its Foreign Minister Amr Moussa for the post of Secretary-General of the Arab League. The term of incumbent chief Esmat Abdel Meguid, an Egyptian diplomat, is due to end in May.

A regular Arab summit, due in Amman in March, is expected to name a new chief for the pan-Arab organization.

If confirmed for the top job, Moussa will be the sixth secretary-general to preside over the 21- member organization since its creation in 1945.

Moussa, a veteran diplomat, has been Egypt's Foreign Minister since 1990.

President Hosni Mubarak informed all Arab Kings and Presidents of this nomination.

Moussa voiced his gratitude for his nomination to the post of the Arab League Secretary-General.

Yemen has also nominated its former premier Mohsen El Allalobi for the post but no official application has yet been submitted

The Arab League's 21 states used to choose the secretary general through friendly touting of the approval, not official voting.

The first secretary general was Abdel El-Rahman Azzam Pasha (Egyptian) from 1945 to 1952, Abdel Khalek Hassouna Pasha (Egyptian) from 1952 to 1972, Mahmoud Riyad (Egyptian) from 1972 to 1979, Shazli Kolaibi (Tunisian) from 1979 to 1991, and Esmat Abdel Meguid (Egyptian) from 1991 until May 2001.

On the other hand, Moussa paid a visit to Algeria on Friday to preside over the Egyptian delegation to the joint supreme committee between Egypt and Algeria, that would discuss the major issues of cooperation between the two states. Six agreements for economic cooperation had been signed.