It was reported recently that the South Korean Trade Minister, Myung-hee, decided to step down from the race to be the next boss of the trade organisation.
In a post made on Social Media by The Washington Trade Daily (@washtradedaily), it confirmed the news saying, “Korea plans to withdraw Trade Minister Yoo from the race for the new WTO director-general, paving the way for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be the next DG and the first woman and African in the role”.
This revelation thus confirms Okonjo-Iweala as the sole candidate to become the next Director-General of the WTO.
Okonjo-Iweala has had to face fierce competition from Yoo who had the support of Donald Trump and had cited the latter’s expertise on international trade dealings as reason for his endorsement.
However, reports say that the selection committee of the WTO preferred Okonjo Iweala who had majority support from member regions of the trade organisation. It was also gathered that the WTO had planned to hold a meeting earlier in the month to announce Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment but had to postpone due to new lockdown rules imposed in the organisation’s location in Geneva, Switzerland.
The leadership position of the WTO became vacant when preceding Director-General, Brazilian born Roberto Azevedo stepped down from the position a year earlier than expected.