WTO Secretary-General: "Trade is Resilient... Global Supply Chain Restructuring is an Opportunity"

Ngcogi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said on the 19th (local time), "Trade is resilient," adding, "Europe, which could not obtain energy from Russia due to the war in Ukraine, was able to resolve energy supply issues from other regions because of trade."

Director-General Okonjo-Iweala made these remarks while attending the closing day discussion session "Global Economic Outlook" at the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) annual meeting held in Davos, Switzerland. She said, "In light of these positive aspects, I want to say that the current situation where global supply chains are being reorganized is not a challenge but an opportunity."

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
[Photo by Yonhap News]

She continued, "Digital e-commerce trade is growing at 8% annually (even amid the contraction of traditional goods trade), which is very interesting."

Although global trade is shrinking due to geopolitical conflicts and other factors, there is a positive outlook that new opportunities will arise thanks to inherent resilience and the growth of e-commerce.

Director-General Okonjo-Iweala also emphasized, "If supply chains are embraced as opportunities, countries seeking minerals and raw materials will strive to find new sources, and developing countries that have been marginalized in supply chains so far could become new suppliers," adding, "Supply chain development will be an opportunity."

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