WTO DG: Okonjo-Iweala Confirmed as Sole Candidate for Second Term as Deadline for Nominations Ends

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged the sole candidate for a second term in office following the end of the nominations for the position, a clear signal for her to have a smooth sail for another four-year term.

Chair of the WTO General Council, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, informed the global body’s members on Saturday that no further nominations for the position of Director-General had been received at the expiration of the deadline of November 8, adding that the incumbent Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emerged as the only candidate for the position.

Okonjo-Iweala confirmed her willingness to serve a second four-year term in the role in a letter to the Chair on September 16.

On October 8, the WTO formally commenced the process for appointing its next Director-General, with members given until November 8 to submit nominations.

However, no nominations were received before the deadline elapsed.

Nigeria’s two-time Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala assumed office as the seventh Director-General of the WTO on March 1, 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve in such a capacity.

Her first term of office will expire on August 31, 2025.

The WTO is the only international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations, regulating and facilitating global trade.

At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.

The fundamental goal of the WTO, as set out in the organisation’s founding agreement, is to use trade as a means to improve people’s living standards, create better jobs and promote sustainable development.

Ndubuisi Francis

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