Tag: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

  • Minister felicitates  Okonjo- Iweala  for re-appointment as WTO DG

    Minister felicitates Okonjo- Iweala for re-appointment as WTO DG

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has felicitated Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on her reappointment as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

    In a statement issued on Saturday by the Minister’s media team, Sulaiman-Ibrahim stated that the remarkable achievements of the former Minister of Finance, underscores her exceptional leadership,unwavering dedication, and transformative contributions to global trade in her capacity as the Director General.

    She noted that as the first African woman to lead the WTO, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala continues to break barriers and set an inspiring example for Nigerian women and girls.

    The statement read, “On behalf of all Nigerian women, I am extending my heartfelt congratulations to our own Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on her reappointment as DG of WTO, which is a well-deserved testament to her tireless commitment to fostering global economic progress and equity.”

    “She is a huge inspiration to, not only Nigerian women but globally. We are proud of her achievements and the pride and honour she has brought to our dear country Nigeria.”

    “Her exceptional career and expertise in economics and international development with focus on economic reforms, poverty reduction, and global trade, has earned her numerous accolades and goodwill.”

    The minister has urged Nigerian women and girls to follow the path of self belief, dedication and commitment just like Okonjo- Iwuala prayed that Okonjo- Iwuala.

    However, the two term WTO leader expressed her gratitude to the organization’s 166 member nation’s and pledged to continue to run a responsive, inclusive and results – driven leadership to ensure organization continues to advance an equitable global trading system.

  • Okonjo-Iweala Visits Tinubu, Discuss WTO’s Plans To Support Nigerians

    Okonjo-Iweala Visits Tinubu, Discuss WTO’s Plans To Support Nigerians

    The Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says her meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Tuesday was aimed at reducing the economic hardship bedevilling Nigerians.

    Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Okonjo-Iweala stressed that her “quiet visit”, which was not an official WTO mission, focused on how to support Nigerians at such a time of need.

    “We all know that things are very difficult for Nigerians outside; everyone is struggling. I’m here myself on a quiet visit.

    “So, this was not really an official WTO mission but we were able to engage with Mr President to talk about ‘what are the kinds of programmes that could be put in place to make sure that the suffering of Nigerians are being alleviated?’”

    The WTO boss disclosed that she had “a really good conversation” with Tinubu, which considered community and grassroots programmes that could be put in place to create jobs for young people and supported women and children, whom she underscored were the most vulnerable.

    She noted that they discussed the importance of long-term investment opportunities that Nigeria could seize, including in the pharmaceutical industry.

    “We also talked about what type of support the WTO – the World Trade Organization – can bring,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

    “We’re already working in Nigeria with women, in particular, who own small and medium enterprises, to try to help them upgrade the quality of their products., whether it’s in the agricultural area, in textiles, and in other areas so that they can sell more internationally.”

    The economic expert also hinted at interventions in the area of digital trade, which she described as the wave of the future.

    “So, how do we train, empower, and give Nigerian women and owners of small and medium enterprises support, so that they can trade more and create more jobs? That’s what’s needed now, helping Nigerians to alleviate the difficult conditions that they are in,” she added.

  • COVID-19: Okonjo-Iweala Harps on Investments in Local Vaccines Production

    COVID-19: Okonjo-Iweala Harps on Investments in Local Vaccines Production

    The Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said Africa could no longer rely completely on importation of vaccines and pharmaceuticals given the lessons drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic.
    She expressed concern that most of the continent’s population remained unvaccinated, with only less than five per cent of Africans fully vaccinated compared to over 60 per cent in developed countries.

    The WTO DG, who had predicated the economic recovery in developing countries on the availability and access to COVID-19 vaccines, pointed out that the organisation had spent a great deal of time working with manufacturers to invest in emerging and developing countries including Africa.

    Okonjo-Iweala spoke virtually at the 49th Annual General Meeting and 50th anniversary of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Abuja.
    She said death dynamics on the continent were worsening with death ratios climbing from an average of 33.4 per cent in 2015 to over 50 per cent in 2021.

    Okonjo-Iweala who spoke on the “Role of Trade in the Post- Pandemic Recovery in Africa,” stressed that unequal vaccine access had limited economic recovery especially in developing countries.

    She said, “Unequal vaccine access and poor physical capacity has led to a K-shaped global economic recovery with advanced and some emerging economies surging ahead because they have access to vaccines and have very strong physical capacity which they use to revive their economy with their accommodative monetary policy.”

    She added: “But those at the downward end of the k-shape which include Latin America, Middle East and Sub-saharan Africa lag behind because they don’t have as much access to vaccines and the physical stimulus especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
    She said intra-regional trade as a percentage of total trade was only 15 per cent in Africa compared to 60 per cent in Asia and 67 per cent in Europe -implying that Africans trade much less with themselves unlike other regions.

    She said the pandemic had exposed how dependent Africa is, reiterating the need for the continent to make use of the The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to build pharmaceutical industries and also produce vaccines.
    The WTO DG said the prospects of a unified market of 1.3 billion people offered enormous opportunities for Nigerian businesses that service a whole market of 211 million people.

    According to her, “The large continental market which makes investments more attractive in Nigeria can create more wealth and more jobs.
    “We need to trade more with each other because we can trade more with each other and increase that percentage, we can create more wealth and create more jobs”.

    She said increased trade remained critical in the recovery of the Nigerian and African economy onto a sustainable upward path.
    Okonjo-Iweala noted: “We need to reverse our presence on the downward part of this k-shaped recovery and use the recovery from the crisis to increase Africa’s share of global trade.

    “Trade is essential to produce and distribute the COViD-19 vaccines we need, these vaccines rely on inputs from multiple countries.
    “The vaccines must get into people’s hands in every country of the world, that is why the WTO has been working hard with vaccine manufacturers and other stakeholders to help them identify supply chains. So that some countries can access the vaccine sooner.”
    Earlier, President, MAN, Mansur Ahmed said industrialisation and trade were key to economic recovery and sustainability adding that this enable Nigeria compete across various frontiers.

  • WTO Working To Boost Vaccine Production In Africa – Ngozi

    WTO Working To Boost Vaccine Production In Africa – Ngozi

    The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said talks are in motion to persuade vaccine companies to invest more in Africa.

    She made the comment while speaking virtually at the annual National Diaspora Day celebration in Abuja on Sunday.

    According to the WTO chief, manufacture of vaccines on the continent will reduce vaccination inequality, made more stark by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Despite rising cases in Africa, many countries have struggled to secure vaccines for their population.

    According to the World Health Organisation, only about 1.5% of the population on the continent is fully vaccinated. In countries like the US, the number is well over 50 percent.

    Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who used to sit on the board of Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, said attempts have been made to bring the CEOS of “major manufacturing companies from Moderna to Pfizer to AstraZeneca, J&J” to the table.

    Meanwhile, she also called for the implementation of Diaspora voting in future Nigerian elections.

  • WTO worried about Nigeria’s exchange rate regime – Okonjo-Iweala

    WTO worried about Nigeria’s exchange rate regime – Okonjo-Iweala

    The World Trade Organisation is worried about Nigeria’s multiple exchange rate regime and how it affects international trade.

    It’s director General, Ngozi OkonjoIweala disclosed this on Monday while responding to questions from journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Monday.
    Okonjo-Iweala, a former minister of Finance, said some member states of the WTO have complained about Nigeria’s invoking the balance of payment agreement to make to be able to conserve foreign exchange.

    She said: “WTO has one of the agreements of balance of payments, and Nigeria certainly invoked this to be able to conserve foreign exchange. But some other members have brought a complaint against us (Nigeria) that we shouldn’t have used this article in that way.

    “Yes, the WTO is concerned about foreign exchange, the way we manage it, the way we use it, and how we use it to support manufacturing or imports and exports in our economy.”

    While expressing optimism, Okonjo-Iweala said she will meet with Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to further discuss the situation.

    “I think that we had that discussion with them, they complaints about the exchange rate regime and we (Nigeria) try to explain.

    “I shouldn’t say we because I’m now DG WTO, it is for Nigeria’s representative to explain to the WTO, to those members complaining why we’re doing this.

    “But eventually, I think having a strong exchange rate and being able to phase out of this, I think we’ll be heading in that direction. We’re also going to see the governor of the central bank, and will undoubtedly discuss some of these issues.”
    Dr Okonjo-Iweala is in Nigeria on a four-day official visit to Nigeria, the first since she assumed office as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation.

  • Okonjo-Iweala resumes as WTO DG

    Okonjo-Iweala resumes as WTO DG

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala takes over the World Trade Organization on Monday amid hopes that she will spur the beleaguered body into addressing its towering challenges, including the pandemic-fuelled global economic crisis.

    “The WTO is too important to allow it to be slowed down, paralysed and moribund,” the first woman and first African to ever lead the global trade body told AFP a day after her nomination last month.

    The 66-year-old Nigerian former finance minister takes the helm after the WTO was left adrift for seven months following the sudden departure of Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo last August, a year ahead of schedule.

    Following a lengthy selection process, development economist Okonjo-Iweala, who spent 25 years at the World Bank, was finally anointed by the WTO’s 164 members on February 15.

    From an initial eight candidates, she was the clear favourite among the last two standing in November. However, her appointment was delayed by former US president Donald Trump blocking her nomination.

    The arrival of his successor Joe Biden made it possible for her to receive the consensus backing required to end the impasse.

    – In at the deep end -She is hitting the ground running, with her first day on the job in Geneva coinciding with the annual meeting of WTO’s General Council.

    Delegates are expected to agree that the organisation’s next ministerial conference, which had been scheduled for last year but was postponed due to the pandemic, will be held in Geneva in December.

    The question remains whether the new WTO chief, considered a strong-willed trailblazer, will be able to mould the organisation in her image before then.

    While some observers voice hope that Okonjo-Iweala will inject much-needed energy, others stress she has little wiggle room to make dramatic change, given that WTO decisions are made by member states — and only when they can reach consensus.

    One of her first tasks will be to nominate four new deputy directors to help recharge the organisation’s negotiating mechanisms.

    Okonjo-Iweala has said that one of her main objectives is to push long-blocked trade talks on fishery subsidies across the finish line in time for the ministerial conference, but with negotiations dragging on, that could be a tough sell.

    And in the midst of a global economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, she has plenty of other challenges on her plate.

    Okonjo-Iweala has voiced concern about growing protectionism and nationalism during the coronavirus crisis and insists trade barriers must be lowered to help the world recover.

    – Vaccines IP wrangle -Among the issues to be discussed Monday is a controversial push for the WTO to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines.

    Dozens of nations say this would help boost production and access and would rein in the pandemic sooner, but the notion has been fiercely rejected by pharmaceutical giants and the countries that host them.

    Okonjo-Iweala chaired the Gavi vaccine alliance before running for the WTO and has made tackling the pandemic another of her priorities.

    In a likely bid to avoid a row on day one, Ngozi has called for flexibility, encouraging voluntary licencing agreements, such as the one agreed between AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India, whereby the SII factory manufactures the pharmaceutical giant’s Covid-19 vaccines.

    The Ottawa Group, which brings together the EU and 12 countries including Brazil, Canada and Switzerland, will meanwhile demand that countries commit not to hinder the flow of medical goods during the pandemic, and remove customs duties on those considered essential.

    Another daunting challenge facing the new director-general will be following through on her vow to breathe life back into the appeals branch of the WTO’s dispute settlement system.

    The Appellate Body, sometimes called the supreme court of world trade, ground to a halt in December 2019 after years of relentless US opposition.

    The United States, along with European countries and Canada, want an overhaul at the WTO, believing it has not responded correctly to the trade distortions caused by China.

  • Okonjo-Iweala: Updates on Buhari’s meeting with European Council President emerge

    Okonjo-Iweala: Updates on Buhari’s meeting with European Council President emerge

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday held a video conference with Mr Charles Michel, President of the European Council, during which the latter reiterated Europe’s support for Nigeria’s Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

    The President is leading Nigeria’s charge for Okonjo-Iweala, the country’s former Minister of Finance, to emerge as the first Black and female WTO DG.

    President Buhari thanked the European Council for its support for Nigeria’s candidate.

    Also discussed during the conference were issues bordering on debt relief for Africa, EU-African relations and recharge of Lake Chad, which has currently shrunk to less than one-third of its usual size.

    The lake has reportedly thrown about 130 million people who depend on it for their livelihoods into dire straits.

    Recharge of the Lake Chad basin is an issue the Nigerian President had vigorously canvassed for at different global fora in recent times.

    President Buhari expressed appreciation to Mr Michel for expected positive developments on the issues raised.

  • WTO: Okonjo-Iweala responds to US opposition

    WTO: Okonjo-Iweala responds to US opposition

    Former Nigerian Finance Minister,  Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says she remains positive of becoming the first African and first female director-general of the World Trade Organisation despite United States opposition to her candidacy.

    The ex-World Bank director said she felt humbled to have been declared the candidate with the largest votes amongst the 164 member states of the 25-year-old global trade organisation.

    Okonjo-Iweala made this known in a tweet on Thursday.

    She wrote, “Happy for the success & continued progress of our @wto DG bid. Very humbled to be declared the candidate with the largest, broadest support among members & most likely to attract consensus.

    “We move on to the next step on Nov 9, despite hiccups. We’re keeping the positivity going!”

    Many Nigerians had expressed delight when key WTO ambassadors led by New Zealand’s Ambassador David Walker proposed Okonjo-Iweala as the best candidate for the job. But the US delegation opposed the move, saying it supported South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee instead.

    Some Nigerians likened the US opposition to that encountered by African Development Bank chief, Akinwumi Adesina, who also faced intense hostility from Washington before his re-election.

    The breakthrough of Adesina, has, however, been a source of hope for many who want Okonjo-Iweala to clinch the top job.

    The troika has concluded the third round of consultations and its decision marks an important step paving the way for Okonjo-Iweala to become next DG of the organisation.

    But the WTO’s 164 member states still need to determine whether they will support her before their next General Council meeting on November 9.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it will continue to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure that the lofty aspiration of her candidate to lead the WTO is realised.