Geneva (AFP)

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala takes office Monday as Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), instilling a sense of hope in this institution facing enormous challenges in the midst of the global economic and health crisis.

"I think the WTO is too important to be slowed down, paralyzed and moribund," the first woman and the first African to head the WTO told AFP the day after her appointment.

Twice Minister of Finance and head of diplomacy of Nigeria for two months, Dr Ngozi, 66, replaces the Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who left office at the end of August, a year before the end of his mandate, for "family reasons ", forcing the organization to sail without a captain on board for months.

The one who worked for 25 years at the World Bank was appointed on February 15 by the 164 member countries of the WTO after a long selection process, paralyzed for several months by the veto on her appointment of the former - Trump administration.

The arrival at the White House of Joe Biden, who offered his support, made it possible to break the impasse.

Dr Ngozi begins her mandate on the first day of the first meeting (March 1-2) of the year of the General Council of the WTO, the opportunity for members of the organization to take stock of the ongoing negotiations .

On this occasion, delegates are also expected to decide that the next Ministerial Conference - which had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic - will be held in December in Geneva.

By then, the new head of the WTO, known for her strong will and determination, will have had time to make her mark in Geneva.

While some hope that his arrival will give the organization a real boost, others stress that it will not be able to change everything with a wave of a magic wand because of the rule of consensus by which members make their decisions.

One of his first tasks will be to appoint his 4 new deputy directors, who will help him revitalize the negotiation mechanism of the organization.

- Institution torpedoed -

The new head of the WTO hopes above all to advance discussions on fisheries subsidies, in order to complete them at the next ministerial conference.

But the task is proving difficult as the talks are stalled.

In the midst of the global economic slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, several other major projects await Dr Ngozi, including resolving the conflicts between the organization and the United States.

She will indeed take the head of an institution torpedoed in particular by the administration of Donald Trump, which was openly hostile to the organization and had even blocked the functioning of the dispute settlement body.

The United States, but also European countries, as well as Canada, also ask for an overhaul of the organization, considering in particular that it does not respond appropriately to the trade distortions caused in particular by China.

Several countries are also calling for greater transparency in the trade policies of the 164 members of the organization.

She recently called on the WTO to focus on the pandemic as members of the organization are divided over an intellectual property rights exemption on anti-Covid treatments and vaccines to make them more accessible.

President of the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) until last year, Dr Ngozi is also eagerly awaited in the Covid dossier, one of her priorities.

The subject will be widely debated over the next two days at the WTO.

Some countries, like India and South Africa, are asking for exemption from intellectual property rights on vaccines to maximize global production.

The Ottawa Group, which brings together the EU and 12 countries, including Brazil, Canada and Switzerland, will for their part demand that countries commit, during the pandemic, not to hinder the medical trade and to eliminate tariffs on goods considered essential.

© 2021 AFP