Asma Al Ghabri

Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been elected to lead the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, succeeding Hissein Brahim Taha when his term ends in November. A veteran of UN development, humanitarian and crisis-management roles, Ould Cheikh Ahmed served in Syria, Yemen, Libya and the Ebola response mission, and was the UN special envoy for Yemen from 2015 to 2018, including during the unsuccessful 2016 Kuwait peace talks. He later became Mauritania's foreign minister and chief of staff to President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. In Jeddah, he will move from managing individual mediation efforts to building consensus among OIC member states, implementing summit and foreign-minister resolutions, coordinating the organization's bodies and advancing its objectives.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told an extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah that regional crises and challenges facing the Islamic world made cooperation and solidarity urgent. Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s planned E1 settlement project, incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and restrictions on aid to Gaza, while reaffirming support for an independent Palestinian state under a two-state solution. Faisal also called for serious reform of the OIC to improve implementation of its resolutions and strengthen collective action. The meeting elected Mauritania’s Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as secretary-general, succeeding Hissein Brahim Taha. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said Palestine would remain the organization’s central priority and pledged to strengthen its influence, combat Islamophobia and hate speech, and expand international partnerships.

Foreign ministers of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation elected Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as secretary-general. He will succeed Hussein Ibrahim Taha, whose term ends in November 2026, and is expected to serve the 2027–2032 term. Ould Cheikh Ahmed brings more than three decades of experience in United Nations work and crisis zones; his candidacy was endorsed by the African Union in February. The OIC charter establishes a five-year renewable term and bases elections on geographical distribution, rotation, competence, integrity, and experience.