RACE FOR WTO TOP JOB: S’African President, Ramaphosa backs Okonjo-Iweala

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has thrown his weight behind the candidacy of Nigeria’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her bid to become the first African woman to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Ramaphosa in a statement issued on Friday said Okonjo-Iweala was a highly distinguished African who had excelled in various public offices, in her native Nigeria, including responsibilities in the AU, and in numerous international assignments.

He wrote: “At a time when international organisations need to be repurposed, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is the right person to reposition the WTO in order to be an effective instrument for facilitating a fair, just, equitable and rules-based trading system,” Ramaphosa said.

“I have no doubt that she has the credentials and capability to restore order in an otherwise turbulent multilateral trading system.”

READ ALSO: Okonjo-Iweala gets EU’s blessing for WTO job

He also urged AU member states of the African Union to rally behind Okonjo-Iweala, one of the last two people still in the running for the post, the other being South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, another woman.

His comments came after the chairman of the African Union commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, declared that Okonjo-Iweala is “by far the best qualified candidate to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO)”.

Mahamat who gave his backing in a statement issued on Thursday said that; “The African Union strongly supports her candidacy and calls on member states and friends of the continent to vote for her.”

Ms Okonjo-Iweala and South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee are the final two candidates – from an initial list of eight.

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