(3 minutes read)
· The former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is now the only candidate left in the contest to become the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the withdrawal of South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee
· A good number of former U.S. government officials urged President Joe Biden to endorse Okonjo-Iweala after the Trump administration blocked her selection in 2020
· Members of the world trade body will be meeting later to take a consensus decision to appoint Okonjo-Iweala
The former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is now the only candidate left in the contest to become the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the withdrawal of South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee. A good number of former U.S. government officials urged President Joe Biden to endorse Okonjo-Iweala after the Trump administration blocked her selection in 2020. It is reported that the withdrawal of Yoo is a direct result of these developments.
However the Nigerian will have to wait till the 164-members of the WTO formally elect her. Members of the world trade body will be meeting later to take a consensus decision to appoint Okonjo-Iweala. Normally, the WTO head is chosen through consensus. In the present case, as against the tradition, there were two candidates on the fray after the US administration under former president Donald Trump refused to support Ngozi, leading to a stalemate. Interestingly, it is still not clear what would be the procedure of the election if there are more than one candidate. WTO experts say that since there is no laid down procedure for election, the members will have to decide on a procedure.” Hopefully, that may not happen this time; but the WTO should evolve a procedure for the selection of DG, if there is a tie,” says one expert, who does not want to reveal his name.
If chosen, Ngozi will become the first woman CEO of the global trade body. The former head Roberto Azevedo, had stepped down as WTO director-general in August a year ahead of schedule. konjo-Iweala will be the first African to head the organization. She had served as her country’s first female finance and foreign minister and has a 25-year career as a development economist at the World Bank. Of late, WTO had received a lot of criticism, particularly from the last US administration, which had affected its smooth functioning. Ngozi has a huge task ahead to bring the functioning of the body on rail and to induce more dynamism in its activities.
