WTO's First Female Chief... Nigerian-born Okonjo-Iweala Appointed Director-General

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala [Photo by EPA]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The World Trade Organization (WTO) has appointed its first female leader in history.

On the 15th (local time), the WTO held a special general council meeting and, through consensus among its 164 member countries, appointed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria as its Director-General. Okonjo-Iweala is also the first African to serve as Director-General in WTO history.

Okonjo-Iweala will begin her duties on the 1st of next month, with her term lasting until August 31, 2025.

In a virtual press conference held after her appointment, Okonjo-Iweala cited responding to COVID-19 as her top priority. She emphasized the WTO’s role in facilitating flexible access to intellectual property rights to enable more countries to vaccinate their populations against COVID-19. Additionally, she identified ensuring free trade, internal WTO reforms, and restoring trust as urgent tasks.

In a statement released immediately after her appointment, she said, "A strong WTO is essential for a full and swift recovery from the severe damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." She added, "Our organization faces many challenges, but through cooperation, we can make the WTO stronger, more agile in response, and better adapted to reality." She also expressed her expectation to work with member countries to concretize and implement the policy responses needed for the global economy to revive.

The WTO welcomed a new leader after a vacancy of about five months.

On the same day, the U.S. Mission in Geneva issued a statement saying, "The United States will work closely with Director-General Okonjo-Iweala," and Bloomberg News reported that they said, "She can count on the United States as a constructive partner." The Chinese Mission also released a statement, saying, "The WTO is at a critical juncture," and evaluated, "The decision by all member countries reflects not only support for Dr. Ngozi but also our vision, expectations, and trust in the multilateral trading system."

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