Rejected By Donald Trump, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Sets A History As The First Woman To Lead WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Wikimedia Commons/World Trade Organization)

JAKARTA - Experienced economist and former Minister of Finance of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made history, after being elected as the first African woman to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The former World Bank official was elected at a special WTO general board meeting held online on Monday, February 15. She will serve as Director-General from March 1, 2021, to August 31, 2025.

Okonjo-Iweala was previously a candidate for WTO leader along with South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee. However, Myung-hee chose to resign, after the United States President Joe Biden 'blessed' Okonjo-Iweala.

Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy as WTO leader in October last year received broad support, including from the European Union, China, Japan, and Australia. Only the United States under Donald Trump at that time rejected it and preferred Myung-hee.

This made the WTO leaders unable to be ratified immediately, because all members had to agree to approve the candidate to be nominated. However, the inauguration of Joe Biden as US President and backing Okonjo-Iweala, made things even smoother.

Serving as Director-General of the WTO, Okonjo-Iweala has limited formal powers, a number of international trade issues await. Such as mediating the trade conflict between the US and China, the pressure to reform trade rules to fight protectionism that is exacerbated by COVID-19.

“What (WTO) needs is someone who has the ability to push for reform, who knows the trade and who doesn't want to see business as usual. And that's me," she told Reuters.

Earlier in an interview, she said her top priority was to ensure trade agencies did more to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, calling the difference in vaccine rates between rich and poor countries absurd and urging members to lift restrictions on exports of medical goods. She also expressed confidence that her priorities were aligned with Washington's.

“I think our interests and priorities are aligned. They want to return the WTO to its goals," she said.

The US delegation said Washington was committed to working with her and would be a 'constructive partner.' The Chinese Delegation pledged "full support" for her. The EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis hoped to work with her to push 'institutional reformation extremely required'.