Qatar Assumes Leadership of Arab Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Amidst Regional Leadership Shifts

Qatar's representative, Mubarak bin Mohammed Al-Kuwari, a member of the Shura Council, has been elected as the chairman of the Arab Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs and National Security. The election occurred by acclamation during a procedural session held in Cairo on Saturday. This appointment is seen as a reflection of Doha's foreign policy, which often emphasizes regional mediation and conflict resolution. Al-Kuwari, who has prior legislative experience with the Qatari-Arab Parliamentary Friendship Group, highlighted that the outcome signifies regional support for Qatar's engagement in collective Arab initiatives and underscored the importance of continuous coordination among member states.

In parallel, Saudi Arabia's Saad bin Sulaib Al-Otaibi, also a member of the Shura Council, was elected president of the Arab Parliament by acclamation. He succeeds Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Yamahi of the UAE, serving a two-year term. The leadership structure was further solidified with the election of four deputy presidents from a field of eight candidates. Representatives from Oman (Saeed bin Hamad bin Hilal Al-Saadi), Egypt (Hisham Al-Hosari), and Jordan (Ihsan Barakat) secured their positions in the initial round of voting. The fourth deputy president seat was won by Libya's Abdulsalam Nasiyah after a runoff against Hassan Al-Taher Al-Barghouthi.

The newly formed bureau convened a private meeting in Cairo on Saturday to prepare for the upcoming term. The parliament's standing committees, including the committee on foreign affairs now led by Qatar and the Palestine committee, are slated to convene on Sunday. This precedes the first plenary session of the new ordinary session scheduled for Monday.