OKONJO-IWEALA ON THE CUSPS OF HISTORY
Who becomes the next DirectorGeneral of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a matter of weeks? It will surely be either Nigeria’s Ngozi OkonjoIweala or South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee.
Members of WTO, according to reports, have since picked the two celebrated women as the final candidates. Hence Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee have both advanced to the final round, in the race to lead the Geneva-based trade body.
It is already a fait accompli that WTO will have the first female DG in its 25-year history, in either of the two finalists. Okonjo
Iweala, who served two stints as Nigeria’s finance minister and one term as foreign affairs minister, has invaluable experience working at international governance bodies. She was a former managing director of the World Bank, and chairman at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
Myung-hee is South Korea’s trade minister. During her 25-year career in government, she has helped to expand her country’s trade network through bilateral accords with the U.S., China, and the U.K.
The United Kingdom’s Liam Fox, Kenya’s Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, all did not secure enough support in the second round of consultations. The third and final phase of the consultation process will begin later this month and run until Nov. 6, after which the WTO will endeavor to name a consensus winner of the race. If WTO members are unable to select a leader by consensus, then a vote requiring a qualified majority could be held as a last resort, which would be an unprecedented development for the organization.
Though pundits agreed that Myung-hee is well versed in the rules and processes that govern the multilateral system having specialised in this area since the mid-1990s, they consider her candidacy unlikely to win the backing of China. Okonjo-Iweala, on the other hand, is viewed as someone with less in-depth knowledge of trade policy, but as an economist and Nigeria's former finance minister, she sure has immense politically savvy. "She has displayed a knack for slick communications during her candidacy, while Ms Myung-hee has been more tight-lipped throughout the process,” says the Financial Times. "Ms Okonjo-Iweala has the advantage of experience in running a big international organisation, having chaired the board of Gavi, the vaccine alliance. The role requires a dealmaker — a skill that Ms Okonjo-Iweala clearly possesses. The new DG must also advocate the benefits of trade in the production and distribution of possible vaccines against Covid-19 and fight critics who argue for reshoring. Given her experience, and the internal politics of the organisation, Nigeria’s candidate seems likely to have the edge."
Yet, the prerogative of electing the next DG of WTO is exclusively for members of WTO. The global community awaits their decision between 'Nigeria and South Korea' with bated breath.
Providence and luck, we fervently hope, and also pray would be on the side of Dr Okonjo-Iweala. The Nigerian amazon is presently on the cusps of making history!