CAIRO - Next week, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi will replace his fellow countryman Amr Moussa as Secretary-General of the 22-member Arab League (AL). However, Thursday was the day for honouring Moussa, who has stayed at the helm of this organisation for twelve whole years. In a brief meeting to honour Moussa, workers, employees and diplomats at the Cairo-based body stressed their love and respect for the veteran diplomat. "We wish you a happy life and we hope you achieve your dreams," Ahmed bin Hili, a deputy AL secretary-general, said, adding that Moussa will go down history as a 'reformer of the Arab League'. "His [Moussa's] contributions have been indispensable for the Arab League and the Arab nation," added bin Hili to applause from the organisation's staff, who praised Moussa for being a veteran diplomat, who has changed the course of the body. Moussa, who has announced plans to run for Egypt's presidency, said that he has done his best to raise the Arab League on the same level as other international organisations. "Yes, there have been differences. However, things are getting better in the Arab world," he stressed, calling on his successor el-Arabi to care for the League's staff, who have become its ‘ammunition'. "You now have a politically and economically strong organisation. You should maintain this," he said. El-Arabi, who was reluctant to take the job, finally succumbed to pressure from within Egypt's ruling powers to apply for the top post in the Arab organisation.
