WTO DG: Panel Recommends Okonjo Iweala as US Moves to Undermine Her Chances
AREWA AGENDA – The World Trade Organisation says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s candidate for the office of the director-general of the organisation, has the best chance at getting a consensus.
In a tweet after the head of delegates meeting on Wednesday in Geneva, the WTO said the result of the consultations is now out.
After the meeting WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell said: “the candidate that had the best chance of attaining a consensus of the membership is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. Consultations on the way fwd will start immediately”.
Media Reports across Nigeria’s Media space were rife that Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonji-Iweala has emerged the new Director General of the World Trade Organisation.
According to the report, sources from the European Union said she emerged victorious in the contest over her South Korean rival Ms Yoo Myung-hee, by a wide margin.
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However, the World Trade Organization’s effort to select a leader and chart a new course for the global trading system hit a roadblock Wednesday after the Trump administration vetoed a bid by front-runner Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is a U.S. citizen, to be the WTO’s next director-general.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Dennis Shea said Washington won’t join a consensus to appoint Okonjo-Iweala because the U.S. supports her opponent, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The United States has told a meeting of the World Trade Organization on Wednesday that it does not back Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next WTO leader, despite cross-regional support for her, two sources at the meeting told Reuters.
The move could undermine the global trade body as it seeks to select a successor to director general Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down in August. A key group of WTO ambassadors had proposed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next chief, but any such decision requires a consensus among the 164 WTO members, meaning any of them could block her appointment.
The WTO says decision on who becomes the next DG may likely be reached on November 9th.
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of young writers and journalists from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive narratives.
