Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has advanced to the final round in the race to be the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The vacancy for the top WTO job arose when Roberto Azevedo decided to step down at the end of August, a year before his term was due to end. The two final candidates, Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria are setting the stage for the first woman to lead the 25 year old organization.
David Walker, the General Council Chairman of WTO said the final selection process will begin on October 19 and run until October 27. The total candidates were eight in number as it was narrowed down to five last month. Three other candidates were eliminated during the second round which was called ‘confessionals’.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been described as a trailblazer. She was a two time Nigeria’s finance minister and the first woman foreign minister. The 66 year old woman is advancing to make history as she bids to become the first African woman to head the World Trade Organization. She is also on the Twitter Board of Directors and is a special envoy for the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 fight.
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Whilst speaking in a tweet post, she said she was undaunted although the WTO job promises to be a tough one. According to her, ‘WTO reform will be tough, but I have delivered hard reforms before, including reforms of trade regimes in several countries.’
She also said she was the only candidate working at the crossroads of trade and public health sectors.
Peace Omenka
Photo Credits: RFI and Twitter