…thanks President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians for their support
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has reacted as the US Government formally gave their backing to her candidature to lead the WTO.
Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has reacted as the United States Government formally gave their backing of her candidature to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This removes the final obstacle to her bid to be the first woman and first African to head the Geneva-based trade organization.
Okonjo-Iweala, in her reaction through a tweet post, expressed gratitude for the show of support from the United States in her bid as the DG of WTO. She congratulated her South Korean opponent, Yoo Myung-hee, for a hard-fought campaign.
The former Finance Minister also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and all Nigerians for their unflinching support throughout the campaign.
Okonjo-Iweala in her tweet post said, “Grateful for the expression of support from the US today for DG of WTO, congratulations to Madam Yoo of the Republic of Korea for a hard-fought campaign. Thank you President Muhammadu Buhari and all Nigerians for your unflinching support. Thank you, friends. Love to my family. Glory to God.”
The US Trade Representative (USTR), in a statement on Friday, said, “Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.”
The USTR also added that it looked forward to working with a new WTO director-general to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO.
The decision of Joe Biden’s administration’s to support Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO job will be viewed in Geneva as a welcome shift in US support for the multilateral trading system following 4 years of criticisms against the trade organization by former President Donald Trump who previously described it as the worst trade deal the US ever signed.
Trump administration vetoed Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy and said it preferred her opponent, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, despite the the overwhelming support she had.