Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the body that oversees global trade laws, have reached an important agreement by electing Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as their new director general for the next four years.
In a Press release, General Council President David Walker announced that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 66, is a global finance expert, economist and international development specialist with over 30 years of experience working around the world.
Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria's finance minister and managing director of the World Bank, where she worked for 25 years, added the president of the WTO's highest-level decision-making body in Geneva.
The new Director-General noted that a strong WTO is vital if we are to recover quickly and fully from the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also stressed that the change in the organization founded in 1995, with 164 member countries that account for 98% of international trade, will consist of moving away from the current way of working in silos to a task-based team, which takes into account the changing dynamics of the global economy and the priorities of the Members, in order to get the world economy moving again.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will take office on 1 March and her renewable mandate will expire on 31 August 2025.
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