CAIRO: Arab leaders are widely expected to approve Amr Mussa s bid for a second five-year term as Arab League chief when they gather in Sudan later this month, a senior official said Thursday.
Arab League assistant secretary general for political affairs Ahmed bin Hili told reporters that the veteran Egyptian diplomat had the support of much of the Arab world and his candidacy will almost certainly be approved. Arab leaders are due to meet in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on March 28 and 29 for their annual summit to discuss developments in the region and to decide whether to elect a new secretary general or extend Mussa s mandate. The issue of renewing the mandate of Amr Mussa will be on the agenda and he has enormous Arab support, bin Hili said. Mussa s term in office runs out at the end of May and Egypt has nominated him for another term. The 73-year-old former Egyptian foreign minister was first elected in 2001 and charged with restructuring and revitalizing the 22-member pan-Arab organization and turning it into the proactive body it never was. AFP
