The newly appointed Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Kuwaiti Nayef Al-Hajraf, will begin his duties at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in Riyadh on Sunday, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Al-Hajraf will succeed Dr. Abdullatif al-Zayani, who was appointed as Bahrain’s foreign minister. The handover ceremony will be held this Thursday in Riyadh, the sources noted.
Al-Hajraf holds a PhD in Accounting from the United Kingdom (2002), a Master’s in Accounting from the United States (1997), a Bachelor’s Degree from Kuwait University (1994).
He served as vice-president of the Gulf University for Science and Technology and as a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council (2010). He is also the CEO of First Abu Dhabi Real Estate Development Company (2009) and a financial advisor at the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Al-Hajraf previously assumed the ministries of Education, Higher Education and Finance.
Meanwhile, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received in Riyadh on Wednesday al-Zayani, who was in the Kingdom on a farewell visit at the end of his term, the Saudi Press Agency reported. King Salman hailed Zayani’s achievements during his years at the helm of the GCC, praising his efforts in boosting joint Gulf work.
Earlier this month, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa decreed that Zayani would be appointed Bahrain’s foreign minister when his term at the GCC ends.
He will be replacing Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who has been Bahrain’s foreign minister since 2005.
