Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el- Arabi was unanimously chosen on Sunday as the new secretary general of the Arab League (AL) to replace Amr Moussa.

At an open meeting for all the AL countries, Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi, who chaired the session, presented el- Arabi as the new secretary general.

Egypt suddenly withdrew Moustafa el-Fikki, also a former diplomat, in the last minute and nominated el-Arabi for the post to get more Arab consensus, sources at the AL headquarters told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, Qatari candidate Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, withdrew from the competition.

El-Arabi saluted all the delegates and made his unprepared speech: "It is my pleasure to win this high confidence from the Arab countries as a chief of the pan-Arab body."

He expressed special thanks for Qatar and pledged to take all the necessary steps to enhance the common Arab agendas.

"I took this post in difficult times. The mutual Arab work is going through crisis. We must all stand together to solve the Arab world's problems," he added.

El-Arabi talked about his initial perception for the new post, stressing that "my duty is to suggest and recommend but the final decision will be taken by Arab summits."

Former AL chief Moussa congratulated el-Arabi, saying that "I decided to leave and I feel very happy that my successor is capable to lead the Arab ship."

"There was a qualitative transfer in the AL structure. A lot of institutions were added while others were removed," Moussa said.

"The AL social and economic council was a sovereign council to lead the Arab society to success in many fields," Moussa added, stressing that the economic, social and cultural issues were the priority of the AL agendas.

The delegates at the meeting praised the former chief's efforts. "Moussa was a successful diplomat, and his leaving is a loss for the Arab common work," a Syrian delegate said.

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