Nigeria’s frontrunner for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization(WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday pledged to work for the benefit of all member-countries irrespective of size or level of economic development.
The former Minister of Finance, who spoke during a media briefing held shortly after her presentation to the General Council of the global trade organisation in Geneva also stressed the need for the election of a credible candidate based on merit for the position of Director-General.
“The WTO DG has no direct decision-making authority. But the WTO DG can work to make things move along with influence and that influence can be proactive.
“And that is the kind of DG that I intend to be if I am selected; to proactively work with members, to deliver outcomes, starting with the next ministerial, to show that the WTO is back and that the WTO is rejuvenated. So, I intend to be a proactively supportive DG.
“The organisation has never had a woman or an African as DG, but my insistence is that choosing a DG for WTO should be on merit.
“Choosing a Director-General for WTO should be on merit. The best person should be chosen to lead an institution that’s having challenges.
“If it happens to be a woman, great. If it happens to be an African it’s also great. It should be based on merit.
“The WTO needs leadership and I’m someone with a strong managerial capability with the ability to forge consensus and reforms.
“These bundles of qualities in addition to my leadership quality is what I’m bringing to the WTO,” she said.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also spoke on various issues ranging from trade implication of COVID-19, challenges to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMSE) as well as e-commerce.
She noted that e-commerce and the digital economy are vital forms of trade, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, she said, there was a need to address the challenge of the digital divide in developing and least-developed nations – where infrastructure remained a major impediment to such form of trade.
Alongside Okonjo-Iweala are candidates from Mexico, Egypt, Moldova, Republic of Korea, Kenya, UK and Saudi Arabia vying for the WTO Director-General position.
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