Okonjo-Iweala faces World Trade Organization general council next week

By Obinna Chima

Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and the country’s candidate for the position of Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), is expected to make a presentation to the General Council of the organisation on July 15.

According to the WTO’s timelines for the selection of a successor to its departing Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo, Okonjo-Iweala will be the second candidate to face the General Council, after Mexico’s candidate, Jesus Seade Kuri.

There are eight candidates jostling for the plum job, and they will all make presentations to WTO’s General Council between July 15 and 17.

The global trade body said in a statement yesterday that in recent weeks its General Council Chair, David Walker of New Zealand, had been consulting with members on the next stages of the process.

The statement explained that under normal circumstances, the second phase of the process in which the candidates “make themselves known to members,” would take three months.

“But following his discussions with members, it has been agreed that the phase two of campaigning will be shortened by one month and will expire on September 7.

“On that date, the third and final phase of the process will begin. Under this phase, Amb.
Walker, together with the Chairs of the Dispute Settlement Body (Dacio Castillo of Honduras) and Trade Policy Review Body (Harald Aspelund of Iceland), will consult with all WTO members to assess their preferences and seek to determine which candidate is best placed to attract consensus support.

“This phase may involve more than one stage of consultations as members seek to narrow the field of candidates. Walker informed members that, as spelled out in the guidelines, the third Phase would last no more than two months,” the statement explained.

Walker was also quoted to have said: “In order to provide clarity for both the candidates and the membership regarding these timelines, we will therefore proceed with Phase Two and Phase Three of the appointment process following the expedited deadlines.”

On May 14, Azevêdo had informed the 164 WTO members that he would be stepping down from his post on August 31, 2020, one year before the expiry of his mandate.

Following consultations with members, Walker had announced on 20 May that a one-month timeframe had been agreed during which members would submit their candidate nominees. That deadline expired on Wednesday.

Okonjo-Iweala, former Managing Director (Operations) of the World Bank, is a renowned global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years experience, having worked in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

She is at present the Chair of the Board of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. She also sits on the boards of Standard Chartered Plc and Twitter Inc. She was recently appointed African Union Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support in the fight against COVID-19, as well as Envoy for the World Health Organisation’s access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, also recently appointed Okonjo-Iweala, to serve as a member of her newly-established External Advisory Group.

She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the number two position of Managing Director (Operations).