Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala all Set to Become the First Woman to Head WTO!
After her South-Korean rival, Yoo Myung-hee withdrew from candidature due to political pressure and US President Joe Biden and his government expressed their support for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala through a statement released on 5th February 2021, the former Nigerian Finance Minister and economist became the first female chief of World Trade Organization. She is also the first African to hold this position in the history of WTO. Because she has dual citizenship, she is also the first American to be in the role. The 66-year old Nigerian economist was selected unanimously and will hold her position as the Director-General of WTO from March 1, 2021, to August 31, 2025.
Okonjo-Iweala has been the ‘first’ in her other positions as well — besides being the first woman in Nigeria to be appointed as the Finance Minister, she was also the first woman to hold the position twice. With degrees from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), her career in finance has been at least four decades-long. Okonjo-Iweala has also worked as the Managing Director of the World Bank previously and has overseen operations worth billions of dollars. In addition to this, she has had an instrumental role in reducing Nigeria’s debts.
Traditionally, WTO requires a consensus among the 164 member states while choosing a leader, but the selection process was brought to a deadlock when the Trump administration refused to back down from their chosen candidate for the post, thus blocking the path for Okonjo-Iweala. The position has not been filled by a candidate after Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo quit in August 2020. Biden’s statement has come as a welcome reform for the organization that seems to be in a deep crisis due to the recession because of the pandemic and tensions between the USA and China.
As published in Hindustan Times, The US Trade Representative’s office said, “The Biden Administration looks forward to working with a new WTO Director-General to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO”. It also noted that Okonjo-Iweala “is widely respected for her effective leadership and … proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.”
Before being elected as the Director-General of WTO, Okonjo-Iweala had stressed the need for WTO’s support to help poorer countries fight Covid-19. As stated in an article by The Indian EXPRESS, “After her appointment to WTO, Okonjo-Iweala said that her first priority would be focusing on the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic especially in the economic and healthcare sectors.” Production and export of vaccines to help control the spread of the virus is one of her priorities apart from the pandemic-induced recession.
Okonjo-Iweala has also expressed her concerns on the “lack of trust” among the members of WTO and will work towards building the trust for the smooth functioning of the organization.
We find the turn of events at WTO very inspirational. What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you want to read more such blogs on current events and inspirational stories, check out our blog section on Fuzia. But before you browse through the content, check out this blog on Bhutan’s Queen Mother and her Initiative.
Image Credits — Google
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.