The appointment of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as the new Director General of the World Trade Organisation seemed to have been dealt a blow after the United States took a different route regarding her nomination.
Ideally, the WTO appoints its director general by consensus, with all 164 members having to approve a candidate; an operation that has been part of the organisation’s history spanning 25 years.
The US has not been pleased with the way the global trade watchdog has operated for some time, having objected to China’s designation as a developing country and hindered the appointment of new judges to the organisation’s appeals body.
Despite the enormous backing received by the former finance mister; from countries in the Caribbean, Africa, the European Union, China, Japan and Australia as revealed by sources, the hope of seeing an African assume the much coveted position could hit the rock following an injury time objection to the process of her nomination by the US.
A spokesperson for the WTO on Wednesday said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy would be put to a meeting of the body’s governing general council on November 9, suggesting there would be negotiations to secure consensus among members.
The Heritage Times had earlier reported that Iweala won by a wide margin polling 104 votes from 164 member countries to defeat South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, 53, who is the first woman from her country to head the Ministry of Commerce.
However, the US position, which has been linked with President Donald Trump’s attempt to subvert the organisation he has so much criticized, may be affected by the result of next week’s presidential election, which Joe Biden is expected to win, according to sources.
