Ambassador (Retd.) Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari from Malaysia had been appointed as the new Secretary-General of the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation by the D-8 leadership in 9th Summit held in Istanbul on 20th October 2017.

Earlier, the D-8 Commission and the D-8 Council endorsed the candidacy of Mr. Jaafar who had a distinguished diplomatic career in the Foreign Service of Malaysia. He was Malaysia’s Ambassador in Qatar, Brunei and Egypt. He was Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia in Zagreb, Croatia as well as in Amman, Jordan. He also served in different diplomatic Missions in different capacity.

At the Foreign Office of Malaysia, Ambassador Jaafar worked in bilateral, multilateral and academic Wings. He overhauled and undertook major works on the restructuring of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation during his office as Undersecretary (OIC). He also developed and guided the professional aptitude programme of the Malaysian Diplomats during his office at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations.

Ambassador Jaafar holds two honorific titles namely, Ahli Mahkota Kedah (AMK) and Dato’ Setia DiRaja Kedah (DSDK) conferred upon him in 2001 and 2006, respectively. He is married and they are blessed with three children.

Ambassador Jaafar thanked the D-8 Leadership for appointing him as the D-8 Secretary-General and the confidence entrusted upon him to move the organization forward in a more accelerated pace. He assured the Leadership of his fullest endeavour in order to promote the cause of the Organization that would serve the Member States with maximum benefits. He also sought continued cooperation from all stakeholders.