World Trade Organisation Postpones Meeting To Pick New Director General...

The World Trade Organisation has postponed a meeting where members are expected to pick a new Director-General after the United States blocked the favoured candidate, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The WTO earlier announced that the meeting would hold next week.
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But a communication seen by AFP showed that the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.
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“It has come to my attention that for reasons including the health situation and current events, delegations will not be in a position to take a formal decision on 9 November,” the head of the selection committee told member states.
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“I am therefore postponing this meeting until further notice during which period I will continue to undertake consultations with delegations,” it added.
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The PUNCH had reports that the United States opposed Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the consensus candidate to lead the WTO.
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The US said it is supporting South Korean trade minister, Yoo Myung-hee, to become the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation because she is a “trade expert”.
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However, the European Union and WTO’s ambassadors backed Okonjo-Iweala for the position.
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US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, while giving reasons for opposing Okonjo-Iweala, who gained American citizenship in 2019, said WTO needs “someone with real, hands-on experience in the field”.
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Okonjo-Iweala had while addressing the WTO in July explained that she is a trade expert.
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She said, “I am a development economist and you cannot do that without looking at trade. Trade is a central part of development. So, I have been doing it. My whole career at the World Bank, I was working on trade policy reform in middle and low-income countries at the bank.
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“As finance minister, the customs service in my country reported to me. And that is all about trade facilitation. I helped my country’s negotiation with my trade minister on the ECOWAS common external tariffs. I don’t know how much more trade you can have than that.
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“So those who say I don’t have trade, they are mistaken. I think the qualities I have are even better, because I combine development economics with trade knowledge, along with finance.

-from @punchnewspaper on IG