More news: WTO welcomes its first African Director-General
This is July 15, 2020. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweara attended a press conference at the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Issued by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Li Ye)
Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, February 15 (Reporter Ling Xin) At the special meeting of the General Council of the World Trade Organization on the 15th, all WTO members agreed to appoint Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iwe Allah is the new director general.
The WTO said in a press release issued on the same day that WTO members "made history." Oconcho Iveara will become the first female director-general and the first African director-general to run the organization. Her term will be from this year. From March 1st to August 31st, 2025.
Okonjo-Iweala expressed his honour to be elected Director-General of the WTO at the online meeting.
She said that in order to fully and quickly recover from the damage caused by the new crown epidemic, a strong WTO is essential. She looks forward to working with all members to formulate and implement response policies to restore the economy.
"Our organization faces many challenges, but working together, we will make the WTO stronger, more flexible, and better adapted to the needs of today's reality."
David Walker, Chairman of the WTO General Council, expressed "the warmest congratulations" to Oconjo-Iweala on behalf of the General Council.
He emphasized that this is a "critical moment" of the WTO, and believes that all members will carry out constructive work with the Director-General to shape the future of the WTO.
Li Chenggang, China's permanent representative to the WTO, said that this appointment is "very timely" at a critical moment when the WTO needs to achieve results as soon as possible.
The joint decision made by all WTO members not only shows their trust in the new Director-General, but also shows “trust in the multilateral trading system that we all believe and maintain”.
Li Chenggang said that as a contributor and beneficiary of a stable, non-discriminatory, rules-based multilateral trading system, China firmly believes that mutually beneficial and win-win trade will be a key tool to help get rid of current difficulties and achieve economic recovery as soon as possible.
Okoncho-Iweala is 66 years old and has worked for the World Bank for 25 years as the executive vice president.
She has also served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
Azevedo, the sixth director-general of the WTO, resigned on August 31 last year, ending his term a year earlier. The selection process for the new director-general was launched on June 8 last year, and a total of 8 candidates were formally nominated. On October 28 last year, the WTO Director-General selected the "three-person team" and announced that Oconcho Iveala was the only candidate for the new Director-General.