Breaking News: Okonjo-Iweala Emerges Director General of World Trade Organisation
Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has emerged as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Reports say that Okonjo-Iweala defeated her only challenger, South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, by a wide margin.
Iweala’s emergence comes after the 27 European Union member states threw their weight behind her bid to become the first African and first female director-general of the global body.
The EU member states are France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
A total of 106 countries officially endorsed her out of 164 states that comprise the WTO.
The 55-member African Union had earlier officially supported the former World Bank director over her sole remaining opponent, Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea.
Okonjo-Iweala had also won the goodwill of a group of Caribbean and Pacific States as well as others from Asia.
Her emergence is expected to be announced formally by the WTO shortly. She will replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo, the former director-general of the 25-year-old trade organisation.
