WTO: Okonjo-Iweala, 4 others know fate next week

TRACKING___Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and four others candidates will know fate for the job of director-general of the World Trade Organisation next week.

Daily Times gathered that the other candidates are Kenya’s Amina Mohamed, Britain’s Liam Fox, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee.

But next week, the initial pool of eight candidates to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as the WTO director-general last month a year ahead of schedule, will be whittled down again, with just two remaining after a second elimination round.

There is no requirement for a regional rotation of the WTO chief position, AFP reports.

But there have been calls for an African to finally get a shot at running the organisation, which has counted three director-generals from Europe, and one each from Oceania, Asia and South America since its creation in 1995.

The WTO aims to select a winner in November, but some have voiced fear that increasing politicisation of the WTO, which relies on consensus to reach decisions, could draw out the process.

Three candidates including Mexico’s Jesus Seade, Egypt’s Hamid Mamdouh, and Moldova’s Tudor Ulianovschi were dropped last month.