Many World Trade Organization (WTO) members have shown support for a group of African countries advocating for Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to pursue a second four-year term, Bloomberg reported.
According to a statement released by the WTO late Monday, fifty-eight of the organization’s 164 members, including several speaking on behalf of groups of members, voiced their support for the African Group's proposal.
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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who began her term as Director-General of the WTO in March 2021, is set to complete her current term in August 2025. When she took up her new post in 2021, she became the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
In response to the proposal for her to seek a second term, Okonjo-Iweala stated that she takes the members' call very seriously and is favourably inclined to consider it, promising to announce her intentions very soon.
While the statement didn’t explain why the process needed to start as soon as possible, the timing could be influenced by the upcoming US presidential election in November. A return of former US President Donald Trump could potentially jeopardize Okonjo-Iweala’s chances of securing the support of an American administration if he wins.
In the previous presidential election year of 2020, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee had been the only remaining contender for the post but pulled out when it became clear that new US President Joe Biden and all 27 EU member states were swinging firmly behind Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy.
The Trump administration had supported Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee — to be WTO director-general, which slowed the selection process.
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