Two weeks before the process for the election of the seventh director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) begins, Three African candidates have appeared in a process that will be resolved before the end of the year.
This process will have to start with the resignation of the current head of the organization, the Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who explained that his mandate expires in 2021, the same year of the next ministerial meeting of the organization, so he resigned in order to avoid the two coinciding.
The resignation comes as the organization's seven-judge appeals body is paralyzed by the United States' blockade on the nomination of the six judges who have finished their terms, and the remaining one will finish hers in December.
According to David Walker, Chairman of the WTO General Council, The period for receiving applications will begin on June 8 and will end on July XNUMX., initiating the presentations of the accepted candidates to the WTO members, who will make the final decision.
In this context, Africa has expressed its intention to participate in the process with three candidates, the first Abdelhamid Mamdouh of Egypt who has held the position of Director of the Services Division of the WTO itself.
then Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria, Deputy Director General of the same WTO, and Eloi Laourou of Benin, representative of Benin in the same multilateral entity.
Kenya's Amina Mohamed, whose government has served as minister of foreign affairs and international trade, is also expected to say she is willing to take up the post.
For African countries, every continent has had its chance to lead the WTO except Africa, and it should not be ignored that developing countries account for three-quarters of the WTO membership.
The fact that the current heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) come from developed countries has been highlighted, the Africa on line website wrote in an editorial, arguing for the viability of an African candidate for the WTO.
Source: Notimex
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