Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become next DG of WTO

Decks have been cleared for Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Friday to become the first woman and the first African to become Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) after South Korea's candidate pulled out of the race for the job.

Decks have been cleared for Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Friday to become the first woman and the first African to become Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Orgzation (WTO) after South Korea's candidate pulled out of the race for the job.

Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean candidate, had dropped out of the race yesterday.

Earlier, the selection process for the appointment had paused after the US raised the objection in November 2020.

In a swift development today February 5, the Korean candidate withdrew from the race through a press statement by the Korean Ministry of Trade.

Later in the day, the US announced its endorsement of Dr Ngozi Iweala as DG (WTO), through a press release from the Office of USTR, which stated interalia "the Biden-Harris administration is pleased to express its strong support for the candidacy of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the WTO. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international orgsation with a diverse membership".

With this, the deck seems to have been cleared for the appointment of Dr Ngozi as the next DG of WTO.

The special General Council meeting to appoint Dr Nagozi is likely to be scheduled soon.

Meanwhile, she thanked India for the support of her candidacy throughout the selection process and expressed interest to work closely with the Indian Ambassador at WTO.

India was at the forefront of supporting her candidacy and she called Indian Ambassador Brajendra Navnit to thank him and express her gratitude and interest to work closely with him.

( With inputs from ANI )