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Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala confirmed as WTO DG

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was selected by consensus to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation at a closed-door meeting on Monday, according to two sources attending the meeting.

All members of the WTO‘s top decision-making body, the General Council, agreed on her appointment in a virtual meeting which had just one agenda item, they said.

The WTO subsequently confirmed the choice.

The confirmation makes her the first woman and first African to lead the WTO.

Okonjo-Iweala was the consensus pick after outmuscling South Korean’s candidate Yoo Myung-hee who withdrew her candidacy earlier this month.

While history is in the offing, Dr Okonjo Iweala will take the helm of an organisation responsible as an arbiter on global trade at a time of rising uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic and the devastating impacts it has wrought in the global trading system, the movement of goods and the palpable rise in protectionism between countries and regions.

The United States had initially sought to block her appointment last year despite it her clear support from a majority of member states; an obstacle removed earlier this month when the new administration of President Joe Biden expressed strong support for her candidacy.

The reform-minded Okonjo-Iweala will have to hit the ground running in an organisation known for its dysfunction, particularly in resolving disputes between countries.

World Trade Organisation appoints Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General

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