DUBAI — Bahrain appointed Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani as the country’s next foreign minister, state news agency (BNA) reported on Thursday, citing a decision by King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

Al-Zayani replaces Khaled Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, minister since 2005 who has been appointed as diplomatic adviser to the king. The official news agency said that Al-Zayani would take up his post when his term as GCC secretary general ends in 2020, without giving a precise date. — Al Arabiya English