Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Closer to Getting WTO DG Job

The European Union governments has thrown its support behind Nigeria’s candidate, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the position of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In the same vein, the EU also expressed support for Korea’s, Yoo Myung-hee. EU member-country envoys agreed on Monday in Brussels to endorse Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Yoo, South Korea’s trade chief, in their bids to become WTO Director-General.

Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee are part of the five contenders in the final round for the job position. Others are Amina Mohamed of Kenya, Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Liam Fox of the United Kingdom.

The five candidates emerged in September from eight others after due consultations by the WTO. Okonjo-Iweala was a Minister of Finance in Nigeria. She also held a position as the Managing Director of the World Bank.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier nominated Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO DG role with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) later backing her nomination. 

Above all,  experts familiar with the voting preferences of WTO’s Governing Council had argued that Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s high professional/personal qualities, international contacts and impeccable records as Nigeria’s former Finance minister/Foreign Affairs minister and as former managing director of the World Bank, stand her high above other contestants. She remains a candidate to beat for the topnotch job because of her reformists record in many countries and international organizations like WTO.

Latest Development 

The chances of Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is getting brighter in the next stage with just two contenders left. The two were selected from a list of five candidates with three eliminations.

The three eliminated during the second round of “confessionals” – in which all member states confidentially voice their preferences – were Liam Fox of Britain, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri of Saudi Arabia, and Amina Mohamed of Kenya.

Wishing Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala the best in the final round.