JEDDAH — Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been elected new secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Ahmed, a Mauritanian diplomat and former foreign minister, took the oath of office as secretary general, succeeding Hissein Brahim Taha, in the presence of foreign ministers of the OIC member states. Earlier, the member states of the OIC have elected Ahmed as the new secretary general of the 57-member pan Islamic body during the 23rd Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Thursday. In his address to the foreign ministers, Ahmed expressed his gratitude to the member states. "Your election of me today is the greatest honor of my career and the highest distinction I have received after more than three decades of international, regional, and national service," he said. The new secretary general expressed his deep pride in this trust and his sincere determination to live up to the expectations of the OIC member states. Ahmed outlined his vision for the coming period, stating that he accepted the mandate "with a profound sense of the magnitude of the responsibility and the weight of the trust placed on him," invoking the hopes of nearly two billion Muslims who aspire to a more prominent, influential, and better-equipped organization to serve their causes. The new secretary general placed Palestine at the forefront of the organization's priorities, stressing that it will remain, in its political, humanitarian, and cultural dimensions the central issue. Ahmed also pledged to strengthen the organization's efforts in combating Islamophobia, confronting hate speech, consolidating dialogue and mutual respect, and building broader partnerships with the international community. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, 66, served as Mauritania’s foreign minister from 2018 to 2022, and as the UN secretary general’s special envoy for Yemen from 2015 to 2018. He also previously served as deputy special representative of the UN secretary general, and as resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for the UN Support Mission in Libya in 2014. From 2012 to 2014, he served as UN humanitarian coordinator and UN Population Fund representative in Yemen, later holding the same positions in Syria from 2008 to 2012.