The selection of who becomes the next Director General of the World Trade Organization is in the final stages. The final stages require a lot of supports. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria's first woman to hold the finance portfolio and also has a long career as a development economist at the World Bank.
Most EU capitals back former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to lead the World Trade Organisation, sources said on Monday, but she has yet to receive unanimous backing.
The EU had already decided to back either Okonjo-Iweala or South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, and officials from the member states met on Monday to seek a consensus. Most of the 27 governments backed Okonjo-Iweala, around ten preferred Yoo but agreed to follow the majority view and only two remained opposed, a European source told AFP. European backing would be a considerable boost for the candidacy of the Nigerian economist, who already said she felt "the wind at my back" when she was backed by the African Union -AFP
The final stages is left with Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and KOREAN Myung-Hee. When successful, she would be the WTO's first African leader. But it was not clear if Brussels will be able to send an unanimous signal of support before the end of consultations on Tuesday. The appointment will be announced in early November.
The envoy's meeting was to resume at 1700 GMT to see if the two hold outs, which AFP understands to be Hungary and one of the three Baltic states, will come on board with the choice.
Series of supports from far and near is narrowing the Director Generalship of WTO to Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala with her intimidating profiles. Her exposures and experiences will be an asset to revitalise WTO as a reformer.
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