The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday (06.11.2020) postponed a special meeting of the General Council on the appointment of the next Director-General scheduled for November 9, citing reasons including “health situation and current events.”
“It has come to my attention that for reasons including the health situation and current events, delegations will not be in a position to make a formal decision on 9 November,” General Council President David Walker of New Zealand said in a written statement to all members.
"Thus, I postpone this meeting until further notice, period during which I will continue to consult with the delegations"Walker added.
On 28 October, Walker told WTO members at a meeting of heads of delegation that, based on his consultations with all delegations, the candidate best suited to build consensus and become the new Director-General was Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria.
“It clearly garnered the most support from members in the final round and clearly enjoyed broad support from members at all levels of development and all geographic regions and has done so throughout the process,” Walker said.
He added that members were expected to make a formal decision at a General Council meeting, originally scheduled for November 9.
But the assessment was questioned by the United States, which said it would continue to support South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and could not back Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy.
Since early October, Okonjo-Iweala had been facing Yoo in the final round of the race to become the new director-general of the WTO. If selected, Okonjo-Iweala would become the first African woman to head the global trade watchdog in its 25-year history.
The WTO leadership vacuum was created after its former head Roberto Azevedo resigned on August 31, a year before the end of his official mandate. The organisation is currently headed by four MPs.
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