Following the resignation of Brazilian Roberto Azevedo from the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the end of August for family reasons, the race for the WTO director-general’s post is between former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and current South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee.
Former Nigerian Finance Minister Mme Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is considered the favorite to take over the important post, but she has yet to receive the U.S.’s blessing, according to a French-language report by RFI on Friday, October 30, 2020. The candidate currently backed by Washington is Mme Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s current trade minister.
Consultations among WTO member states have identified Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, as the candidate with the best chance of gaining widespread endorsement for the new director general. The 66-year-old former Nigerian finance minister, who also served as Nigeria’s foreign minister, is a former member of the WTO. She has also served as the World Bank’s second-in-command, losing out to Seoul-born Korean-American academic Jim Yong Kim for the World Bank presidency in 2012.
U.S. Presidential Election Impacts WTO
Two days ago, on October 28, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, a native of Africa, came close to becoming the first woman to head the World Trade Organization. But due to a lack of consensus, she had to wait patiently for the next meeting, which is expected to take place ten days later on November 9. This means that the race for the WTO’s new director general will not be settled until after the U.S. 2020 elections on November 3.
EU Supports Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
In the informal meeting, 27 delegations took the floor and expressed almost unanimous support for the process, except for one side. The European Commission, along with all EU member states, and 79 countries supported the Nigerian candidate, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala.
The United States supports Yoo Myung-hee
The United States believes that South Korean candidate Yu Myung-hee has the ability to effectively lead the WTO. Washington does not currently support Nigeria’s candidate Okonjo-Iweala.
According to reports, former Nigerian Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala is interested in campaigning for developing countries at the WTO, while South Korea’s current trade minister wants to implement reforms to the WTO.
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