"EU Pushes Nigerian Candidate for WTO Director-General... Yoo Myung-hee Faces Challenges (Summary)"

Agreement to Support Okonjo-Iweala Candidacy Reached at EU Member States Ambassadors Meeting on 26th
Interpreted as Support for Africa... "Japan and China Likely to Exercise Veto"

Yoo Myung-hee, Head of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, candidates in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] In the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election, the member countries of the European Union (EU) have reportedly agreed to support Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. With the votes of 27 member countries shifting en masse toward the Nigerian candidate, Yoo Myung-hee, the Director-General candidate from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, faces difficulties in the runoff election.

According to AFP and other sources on the 26th (local time), the EU is expected to publicly announce its support for Okonjo-Iweala on the 27th and convey this to the WTO. Prior to the announcement, EU member country ambassadors held a special meeting that day to reach an agreement on their preferred candidate in the WTO Director-General runoff. Although the first meeting failed to reach a consensus, they reconvened around 6 p.m. and agreed to support Okonjo-Iweala.

Initially, many EU member countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands supported Okonjo-Iweala, while Eastern European countries including the three Baltic states showed support for candidate Yoo. A source told foreign media that Latvia and Hungary expressed continued support for Yoo during the meeting but eventually, in the evening session, the majority shifted their support to Okonjo-Iweala.

An EU source explained to foreign media, "This is a strong signal to strengthen the multilateral order, a clear message to Africa, and an expression of mutual trust." It is interpreted that they were conscious of the fact that if Okonjo-Iweala is elected, she will become the first African to serve as WTO Director-General.

Bloomberg previously reported, citing officials, that the EU member countries' support for Okonjo-Iweala was based on strengthening relations with Africa and considering her extensive experience at institutions such as the World Bank (WB). The European edition of the American political media outlet Politico also reported, citing two EU officials, that EU ambassadors agreed to support Okonjo-Iweala that day.

One foreign media outlet stated, "With this EU decision, candidate Yoo faces difficulties," and added, "Japan and China are expected to exercise a de facto veto for political reasons." Japan has already decided to support Okonjo-Iweala and is reportedly actively trying to block Yoo's election.

The WTO has been conducting a final preference survey on candidate Yoo and Okonjo-Iweala among its 164 member countries since the 19th. The survey is scheduled to continue until the 27th. The Director-General will be finally elected through a consensus-building process by the deadline of the 7th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.