FORMER FINANCE MINISTER OF NIGERIA TO BE FIRST WOMAN AT HELM OF WTO

GENEVA: Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala looks set to be confirmed on Monday as the first woman and first African leader of the beleaguered World Trade Organization, a near-paralysed institution desperately needing a kick-start.

The WTO has called a special general council meeting at which the former Nigerian finance minister and World Bank veteran is expected to be formally selected as the global trade body’s new director-general. US President Joe Biden strongly swung behind her candidacy shortly after the only other remaining contender, South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, pulled out.

“I look forward to finalising the process,” Okonjo-Iweala said on February 6 after securing the Biden administration’s support.

The organisation is also eager to conclude the drawn-out process, having been leaderless since Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo stepped down last August, a year ahead of schedule. The process of picking one of eight candidates to succeed him had been expected to wrap up by November, but the administration of former president Donald Trump blocked the consensus to appoint OkonjoIweala.

The 66-year-old will not be at the WTO’s Geneva headquarters for Monday’s virtual session and it is not known when she would take up her duties.

The WTO picks its leaders through consensus-finding, so even though she is the only candidate still in the race -- boasting US, EU and African backing -there is always the chance of a spanner being thrown in the works.