Africa’s contender
GENEVA: Nigeria’s candidate to head the World Trade Organization (WTO) feels “strong support” from Africa.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance and foreign minister who has 25 years’ experience at the World Bank, is seeking to replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo who said he would step down as the WTO directorgeneral next month.
Okonjo-Iweala said she wanted to raise Africa’s share of world trade from the current 3%. Critics say she doesn’t have enough direct trade experience but her backers laud her negotiating skills, including a deal to cancel billions of dollars of Nigerian debt.