The Arab League will choose a non-Egyptian secretary general after newly-elected chief Nabil al-Araby's term ends, Oman's foreign minister has said. In statements published on Tuesday in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a London-based newspaper, Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said the decision was made in consideration of the right of all Arab nations to choose their representatives. League members on Sunday unanimously chose Araby, Egypt's former interim foreign minister, to succeed former chief Amr Moussa after the Egyptian government nominated Araby in place of former National Democratic Party member Mostafa al-Fiqqi, its original nomination to the position. The Arab League has typically chosen Egyptian secretary generals, even though the organization's charter fails to stipulate its head must be Egyptian. The agreement to rotate the seat "comes out of the recognition that the Arab League is the property of all," Alawi said. “In the past, we decided by consensus that the secretary general should come from Egypt, as the position represents all Arab nations and does not merely represent the nation which hosts the league's headquarters," he said. Alawi added that Egypt had contributed greatly to Arab culture, and on this basis, the league typically chose an Egyptian secretary general. He stressed that Egypt would “forever maintain its important position in the Arab world.” He said many consultations took place before the final decision, which he attributed to an understanding between Qatar and Egypt. Qatar had felt it was necessary to support Egypt's bid for the position in order to show support for Egypt's revolution, Alawi said. Translated from the Arabic Edition
