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Former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee are the final candidates to head the World Trade Organization (WTO), ensuring that the WTO, from 25 years old, he will have his first female leader.
The WTO said on Thursday that the two women were the remaining director-general candidates after the field was reduced from five to two, confirming what Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The winner will replace Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who resigned a year earlier than expected in late August. The WTO aims to find a successor in early November.
“The two women who are in the final round are remarkably well qualified. This is something that everyone has agreed on,” WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters when making the announcement at the headquarters of the WTO. WTO in Geneva.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, a former Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance, is an economist and development specialist who now serves as the chairman of the board of the global Gavi vaccine alliance. She has said that the WTO should play a role in helping poorer countries access COVID-19 medicines and vaccines.
Yoo, 53, South Korea’s trade minister, presents herself as an experienced trader in trade in tough times after closing deals with the United States, China and other countries, while supporting global rules.
Kenyan sports minister Amina Mohamed, Saudi royal court adviser Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri and former British international trade minister Liam Fox withdrew from the race after failing to gain sufficient support from the 164 WTO members.
The WTO will hold a third and final round of selection from October 19 to 27, with a view to having a director general in early November, when the US presidential elections also take place.
“I don’t think the internal political situation in any country really got into this, as far as I know,” Rockwell said, when asked if the elections had an impact.
The winning candidate will face formidable challenges with rising global tensions and protectionism during a COVID-induced slowdown, most obviously between China and the administration of US President Donald Trump, as well as pressure to push through reforms.
