China News Agency, Beijing, June 9th, comprehensive news: On the 8th local time, the WTO officially launched the selection process of the new director-general. From now until July 8, WTO members may nominate candidates for the new Director-General. Candidates will meet with all WTO members, express their opinions and answer questions. After that, multiple rounds of evaluation will be carried out until a final candidate is confirmed before a final vote is taken.
On the 8th, Mexico announced the nomination of the country’s official Jesús Seyard for the election of the new WTO Director-General, becoming the first WTO member to nominate a candidate for the new Director-General.
According to the personal resume posted on the official website of the WTO on the same day, Seyard served as the Deputy Director-General of the WTO and the Deputy Director-General of the WTO’s predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and served in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is the chief negotiator of Mexico in the "U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement" (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement).
Data Map: WTO Director General Azevedo. China News Agency reporter Han Haidan
According to previous reports by the BBC, Azevedo announced on May 14 that he will officially leave office on August 31, ending his term one year earlier. David Walker, President of the WTO General Council and New Zealand Ambassador to the WTO, expressed to members on May 20 that from June 8 onwards, WTO members will have one month to nominate their respective Director-General candidates to the General Council people.
According to regulations, if the new director-general cannot be confirmed by August 31, the general council must designate an incumbent deputy director-general as acting director-general until the appointment of the new director-general.
At present, there are four deputy director-generals in the WTO, namely Yonov Frederick Aga from Nigeria, Karl Brauner from Germany, Alan Wolf from the United States and Yi Xiao from China quasi. (Finish)