Nigeria\u2019s former Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday, shared her vision with the World Trade Organisation members for the post of director-general.<\/p>\n
Following the nomination stage which closed on July 8, the eight candidates vying for the position started presenting themselves to the 164 States that comprise the WTO on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Other candidates aside Okonjo-Iweala are Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt), Amina Mohamed (Kenya), Jes\u00fas Kuri (Mexico), Tudor Ulianovschi (Moldova), Yoo Myung-hee (Korea), Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri (Saudi Arabia), and Liam Fox (UK).<\/p>\n
Speaking at the meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, the former World Bank director said she has all it takes to become the first African and first female DG of the global trade force established in 1995.<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cI think it is an honour to have three qualified candidates from my continent and we should not necessarily see it as a bad thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have total respect for my competitors from all continents for the job of WTO and I believe that WTO members should select on merit. Of course, I would love if that came from Africa because Africa has never had a turn. I would love if it is a woman because a woman has not had a turn and I would love if it were me because I think I\u2019m qualified to lead and I have all the attributes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWTO needs leadership and it needs someone able to bring a bundle of qualities \u2013 political ability and ability to reach decision-makers. International contacts, I have that. Managerial capability from my long years in a multilateral organisation like the World Bank. The ability to forge consensus, to negotiate, a reformer. I have an established reputation as a strong reformer both at the World Bank and also in my country. I\u2019ve even written a book about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think together I bring a bundle of qualities \u2013 public sector, private sector \u2013 because you need to know how do businesses see the WTO and what needs to be done. What about micro-medium and small enterprises? Just to find out what it means to be a small-medium enterprise owner, I started one myself in Nigeria to see what are the obstacles in the way that you need to clear out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria\u2019s former Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday, shared her vision with the World Trade Organisation members for the post of director-general. Following the nomination stage which closed on July 8, the eight candidates vying for the position started presenting themselves to the 164 States that comprise the WTO on Wednesday. Other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":27467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[1517],"class_list":["post-27464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-world-trade-organisation"],"yoast_head":"\n