On Monday, Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) making her the first woman and the first African to lead the multilateral trade body.
“The decision was taken by consensus today at a special meeting of the General Council of the organization,” said an official.
More-also, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and an economist at the World Bank.
Under the Donald Trump administration, the US vetoed the nomination of Okonjo-Iweala in October, despite strong support from nearly all World Trade Organization members.
However, the Joe Biden administration, has extended the support of the United States to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said that working with members to deal quickly with the economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic would be a key priority for her.
“I am honoured to have been selected by WTO members as WTO Director-General,” said Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
“A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and quickly from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy back on track.”
“Our organization faces many challenges, but we can work together to make the WTO stronger, more agile and more responsive to reality.” Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement.
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