WTO Council to ratify Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as director-general February 15

The General Council of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will meet on February 15 to consider the appointment of Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the body’s new director-general.

If confirmed by the Council, Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman and African to head the 164-member organization.

She will succeed Brazilian diplomat, Roberto Avezedo, who stepped down from the post in August last year.

In a statement titled: “WTO General Council to consider the appointment of next Director-General,” posted on its website Tuesday, the organization said it would hold a special meeting of its General Council on that date “to consider the appointment of its next chief.

READ ALSO: US endorsement of Okonjo-Iweala for WTO’s top job excites Nigeria, Africa – Buhari

The statement read: “The WTO’s General Council will hold a special meeting on 15 February at 15:00 Geneva time to consider the appointment of the next Director-General. The meeting will take place in a virtual format.”

The United States government had last declared its “total support” for the ex-World Bank managing director in the race for the WTO’s top job.

The US Trade Representative in a statement said the Nigerian possesses “wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy” and had “proven experience managing a large international organization.”

Okonjo-Iweala was a two-time Minister of Finance under ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria.

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