By Ahmed Rahma
The newly-elected Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has assumed office today, March 1, 2021.
The former Nigerian finance minister, the first woman and African to be in that position, is the organisation’s seventh DG.
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, whose tenure as the DG will end on August 31, 2025, revealed her plans to work with other members of the organisation to restructure the global trade body.
“Some WTO rules and procedures also need to be revisited, including the procedure for appointing director-general,” she noted in her acceptance speech.
The new WTO boss added that the trade body’s rulebook needed to reflect 21st-century realities such as e-commerce, the digital economy, and the pandemic.
The lengthy selection process ended up with Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, who spent 25 years at the World Bank, to lead the body by the WTO’s 164 members on February 15.
The council’s consensus made her appointment possible.
The process was hampered by the United States’ objection under former President Donald Trump, despite the approval of council members in October 2020.
Her election has been described as a welcome development because of her experience at the World Bank. She is believed to be the right person to lead the WTO.
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