Hope for new momentum as Ngozi takes WTO reins
GENEVA: Ngozi OkonjoIweala said she was eager to get straight to work as she took up her role Monday as the first woman and first African to lead the beleaguered World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“I am coming into one of the most important institutions in the world and we have a lot of work to do,” the former Nigerian finance and foreign minister said as she arrived for her first day on the job in Geneva.
“I feel ready to go.” Hopes abound that the 66year-old will be able to help the WTO address a range of towering challenges, including navigating through the global economic crisis triggered by the pandemic.
“The WTO is too important to allow it to be slowed down, paralysed and moribund,” she told AFP.
Known as Dr. Ngozi, she is taking the helm after the WTO was left adrift for six months following the sudden departure of Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo last August, a year ahead of schedule.
Following a lengthy selection process, Ngozi, a development economist who spent 25 years at the World Bank, was finally anointed by the WTO’s 164 members on Feb 15.
From an initial eight candidates, Ngozi was the clear favourite among the last two standing in November. However, her appointment was delayed by former US president Donald Trump blocking her nomination.
The arrival of his successor Joe Biden made it possible for her to receive the consensus backing required to end the impasse.
Ngozi is hitting the ground running, with her first day on the job in Geneva coinciding with the annual meeting of the WTO’s General Council.
“I am hoping to be able to listen in and see what delegations have to say, what ambassadors have to say, about the key issues,” she told journalists about her expectations for her first day.
Delegates are expected to agree that the organisation’s next ministerial conference, which had been scheduled for last year but was postponed due to the pandemic, will be held in Geneva in December.
Questions remain as to whether the new WTO chief, considered a strong-willed trailblazer, will be able to mould the organisation in her image before then.
While some observers voice hope that Ngozi will inject muchneeded energy, others stress she has little wiggle room to make dramatic changes, given that WTO decisions are made by member states – and only when they can reach consensus.