By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been reappointed for a second term in office as the Director-General of World Trade Organization (WTO).
She was reappointed at a special meeting on Friday, the trade watchdog said.
Okonjo-Iweala made history in 2021 when she became the WTO’s first female and first African Director-General.
She announced in September that she would run again, aiming to complete “unfinished business”.
She was the sole candidate as no one indicated interest to run against her.
Trade sources said the special meeting was convened as a means of fast-tracking her appointment process to avoid any risk of it being blocked by the incoming US President, Donald Trump.
Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20, threatened hefty tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China.
His teams and allies have criticised both Okonjo-Iweala and the WTO in the past and his re-election was seen as an obstacle against Okonjo-Iweala’s second term.
In 2020, Trump who was the then President of US supported a rival candidate and sought to block Okonjo-Iweala for the top job.
She secured U.S. backing only when President Joe Biden succeeded Trump in the White House in January 2021.
Even in the Biden era, WTO negotiations have made limited progress although a handful of deals were struck in Geneva in 2022.
Efforts to revamp the WTO’s dispute settlement system, which has been in limbo since first tenure of Trump due to U.S. opposition to judge appointments have been unsuccessful, ahead of an end-December deadline.
Analysts have predicted that the WTO will be a theatre where mounting trade tensions between the U.S. and China will play out, with Trump’s new trade team expected to challenge Beijing’s official developing country status at the WTO that critics say gives it unfair advantages.
Others have also said there was an opportunity for Okonjo-Iweala to keep the WTO relevant by using it as a forum to address trade tensions.
