The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be meeting at 3pm today to affirm Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new Director General of the organisation.
When Sworn in, Okonjo-Iweala will become its first female and first African leader. She is not a trade expert but says she can be a “clear set of eyes” for the global trade body.
The Nigerian Government had given its unflinching support to ensure that Iweala won the race.
Her appointment as director general at a meeting of envoys from the 164 WTO member countries is considered a mere formality.
The previous U.S. administration of President Donald Trump had blocked the appointment process by opposing Okonjo-Iweala.
Trump’s successor Joe Biden last week threw his weight behind the woman who previously served as Nigerian finance and foreign minister, and as the managing director of the World Bank.
Okonjo-Iweala prevailed over several other candidates in the months-long WTO leadership race, including South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung Hee, her main rival.
Okonjo-Iweala is set to succeed the Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who left the WTO before the end of his term in August.
He has joined U.S. beverage giant Pepsico as an executive.
The leadership change comes as the WTO is in its deepest crisis since it was founded in 1995.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, served as Nigeria’s first female finance and foreign minister and has a 25-year career behind her as a development economist at the World Bank.
