For the first time in history global trade is to be governed by a woman

By Elishya Perera

New Delhi (CWBN)_At the Heads of Delegation meeting held yesterday (8^th October) the General Council Chair of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) David Walker disclosed that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea have been qualified to the third and final round which would determine the next Director-General of the organisation. The winning candidate will replace Roberto Azevêdo who stepped down as WTO Director-General on 31^st August 2020, a year before the expiry of his mandate. This is considered to be a historical moment as the 7^th Director-General will be the first woman to lead the organization.

Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and development specialist who has served as Nigeria’s foreign minister and finance minister and as a managing director of the World Bank, while Yoo Myung-hee is South Korea’s first female trade minister. WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell stated, “Both of the women that are in the final round are remarkably well qualified. This is something on which everyone has agreed. We’ve been impressed with them from the very beginning”.

Following his announcement of the resignation of Azevêdo in May 2020, the selection process to appoint a new Director-General was launched by General Council Chair David Walker. The General Council agreed on 31 July that there would be three stages of consultations held over a two-month period commencing 7 September. Accordingly, the eight candidates put forward by their respective governments during the nomination period were cut to five in September, and two in October. The final decision is due to be made on 7^th November.

“Our aim continues to be to encourage and facilitate the building of consensus among members, and to assist in moving from this final slate of two candidates to a decision on appointment. As this is the final round of the consultation process, it should bring us to the point where we can make a recommendation to the General Council concerning that decision,” Walker stated.

The Director- General appointed in November is expected to negotiate international trade talks between the US and China, amidst President Donald Trump’s claims that the WTO is “broken” and “horrible”. The World Trade Organization is a forum for governments to negotiate trade deals and to settle trade disputes. Established in January 1995, the WTO consists of 164 members representing 98 per cent of world trade.