*Says she is honoured
By Joyce Babayeju
Three months after the Trump administration rejected her, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received unanimous backing on Monday to become the first woman and first African director-general of the World Trade Organization.
WTO confirmed her appointment at a special meeting of the General Council, following a selection process that included eight candidates from around the world.
The tweet announcing her appointment by the WTO read: “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria is appointed as the next WTO Director-General.
“Her term starts on the 1st of March 2021.”
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
By her appointment she tasked with restoring trust in a rules-based global trading system roiled by protectionism and the pandemic.
During a virtual meeting on Monday the WTO’s 164 members unanimously selected the 66-year-old development economist to serve a four-year term as director-general.
After withstanding a veto of her candidacy by the now-departed Trump administration, Okonjo-Iweala takes the helm of the Geneva-based WTO at a precarious time for the world economy and just as the organization itself is mired in a state of dysfunction.
She held a previous role as chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization after a public sector career in international finance, including two terms as Nigeria’s finance minister and some 25 years at the World Bank. Her dual U.S. citizenship means she’s also the first American to hold the organization’s top job.
Navigating the growing chasm between China and western nations — who argue that China’s entry into the organization in 2001 failed to transform it into a market economy — will be a key challenge.
China’s delegation to the WTO, in a statement, said “the WTO is at its critical moment and must be able to deliver soon. The collective decision made by the entire membership demonstrates a vote of trust not only in Dr. Ngozi herself, but also in our vision, our expectation and the multilateral trading system that we all believe and preserve.”
Washington and Brussels have railed against China’s massive subsidy programs, forced technology transfers and the state’s expansive influence over the Chinese economy — policies that they say have collectively resulted in trade distortions that negatively affect the global economy.
During her campaign, Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged the necessity of rebuilding trust between the U.S. and China while trying to find areas of common interest. As a candidate she endorsed an ongoing an initiative among the U.S., EU and Japan aimed at developing new disciplines for industrial subsidies, state-owned enterprises and forced technology transfers.
In the near term, Okonjo-Iweala may look for some early wins on issues including:
A multilateral accord to curb harmful fishing subsidies
Negotiations to govern the $26 trillion global e-commerce marketplace, which could reduce cross-border hurdles for U.S. technology companies
Addressing the paralysis of the WTO appellate body, the forum for settling international trade disagreements
This week the European Union is expected to call upon U.S. President Joe Biden to consider a set of principals as a basis for negotiating and clarifying the WTO’s dispute settlement rules
Okonjo Iweala speaks on her appointment
Okonjo-Iweala speaks on appointment as director-general of WTO
Reacting to the confirmation of her appointment, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Monday said she is “honoured” to have been named as the director-general of World Trade Organisation.
“A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Okonjo-Iweala said after her official confirmation.
“I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again. Our organization faces a great many challenges but working together we can collectively make the WTO stronger, more agile and better adapted to the realities of today.”
“This is a very significant moment for the WTO. On behalf of the General Council, I extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as the WTO’s next Director-General and formally welcome her to this General Council meeting,” said General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand who, together with co-facilitators Amb. Dacio Castillo (Honduras) and Amb. Harald Aspelund (Iceland) led the nine-month DG selection process.
“Dr Ngozi, on behalf of all members I wish to sincerely thank you for your graciousness in these exceptional months, and for your patience. We look forward to collaborating closely with you, Dr Ngozi, and I am certain that all members will work with you constructively during your tenure as Director-General to shape the future of this organization,” he added.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala said a key priority for her would be to work with members to quickly address the economic and health consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic
