The United States has finally backed a former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to lead the World Trade Organisation after several months of delay of the selection process.
President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday offered its “strong support” to Okonjo-Iweala, citing her “wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister.”
The development came after Okonjo-Iweala’s only remaining contender and South Korea’s Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, on Friday withdrew her candidacy for the position.
The US’ decision to back Okonjo-Iweala was contained in a statement on Friday on the website of the US Trade Representative titled, ‘Office of the United States Trade Representative Statement on the Director General of the World Trade Organisation.’
The statement read, “The United States takes note of today’s decision by the Republic of Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee to withdraw her candidacy for Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“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 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 organisation with a diverse membership. It is particularly important to underscore that two highly qualified women made it to the final round of consideration for the position of WTO Director-General – the first time that any woman has made it to this stage in the history of the institution.”
The US said it stood ready to engage in the next phase of the WTO process for reaching a consensus decision on the WTO Director-General, adding, “the Biden-Harris administration looks forward to working with a new WTO Director-General to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO.”
