CAIRO — Arab foreign ministers on Sunday unanimously named former Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Fahmy the Arab League's new Secretary General.

 

Fahmy will be officially approved by Arab leaders at the next summit, set to be held in Saudi Arabia, before starting his five-year term in July.

 

The former top diplomat, who led Egypt's foreign ministry from June 2013 to July 2014, will become the eighth Egyptian head of the Cairo-based regional bloc, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

 

In a statement, Fahmy, 75, said the role was a "great responsibility" to bear, given "the blatant violations of international law perpetrated by aggressors who have treacherously attacked our countries and our security, and by others whose prolonged occupation of our lands have obstructed our brothers from exercising their legitimate rights".

 

The Arab League, founded in 1945, is a mostly political forum for Arab countries to discuss and communicate points of consensus.