WTO: Okonjo-Iweala to seek second term as DG

.58 countries endorse her for second term

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to head the World Trade Organisation, will seek a second four-year term when her mandate expires next August, her spokesman said Monday.

“We can confirm that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has officially announced her intention to seek a second term as Director-General of the WTO,” spokesman Ismaila Dieng said in a statement.

Dieng said the 70-year-old had taken into account “the overwhelming and broad-based support expressed by members”.

Her current term at the helm of the 166-member WTO ends in August 2025.

Her decision to seek another term was officially communicated to WTO chair Norwegian Ambassador Petter Olberg on Monday.

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The WTO’s African Group formally requested that she make herself available for a second term at that same meeting, and proposed that the process to re-nominate her should begin as soon as possible.

So far no other candidates have come forward.

Okonjo-Iweala, who took over in March 2021, has hinged her leadership on breathing new life into the sclerotic organisation.

The former foreign and finance minister of Nigeria sold herself as someone who can bang heads together and get business done.

Meanwhile, fifty-eight of the 164 member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members have voiced support for a proposal from the African Group backing incumbent Director General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to serve a second term.

The 58 member countries of the trade association made this known at a July 22 meeting of the WTO General Council, according to a statement by the world trade body.

“The African Group requests that the current Director-General make herself available to serve a second term, and has proposed that the process of reappointing the Director-General should be started as soon as possible,” the statement partly read.

“Fifty-eight members, several speaking on behalf of groups of members, took the floor to comment and express their support for the African Group proposal. They called on DG Okonjo-Iweala to make her intentions regarding a second term known as soon as possible. Most of these members praised the DG’s hard work and her achievements during her first term.

Okonjo-Iweala, 70, said she was very grateful for the support from members. “Everything that I’ve accomplished, we’ve accomplished together,” she said.

The director general said that she took the call of members very seriously and was favourably inclined. She said she would get back to members very soon regarding her intentions.

Okonjo-Iweala, the seventh WTO boss, took office on March 1, 2021 for a single term of four years which will expire on August 31, 2025. She is eligible for a second term.

The former Nigerian Finance Minister navigated stiff opposition to become the first woman and the first African to serve as WTO Director-General. Before her current appointment, she twice served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015. She also briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions.

The skilled negotiator had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the number two position of Managing Director, Operations.