European Union governments have thrown their weights behind Nigerian and South Korean candidates to head the World Trade Organization WTO as the race for the leadership enters its final month.
According to an official familiar with the matter, envoys from UN countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to endorse Nigeria’s former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s trade chief, Yoo Myung-hee in their bids to become WTO director-general.
Hungary was the last of EU member country to endorse the candidates as it withheld support at a lower-level meeting last Friday of officials representing the 27-nation bloc.
Five candidates are in the running to the lead the WTO and the two finalists will be announced after Oct. 6 while the winner would be named by Nov. 7.
The position for WTO Director-General became vacant in August when Brazilian Roberto Azevedo stepped down from the job a year before his term ended.
The Geneva-based trade body is currently battling challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a hobbled arbitration system, the U.S.-China trade battle and a lack of tools to tackle growing challenges such as industrial subsidies.
