Okonjo-Iweala announces bid for second term as WTO DG

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has officially announced her intention to seek another four-year term as head of the organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala announced her bid for a second term more than a month after 58 member countries supported a proposal from the African Group of WTO for her to head the organisation for another term.

The DG appreciated the support and said she would give her feedback to members soon.

In a statement to Reuters on Monday conveying her feedback, Okonjo-Iweala said she is ready to “compete”.

“I would like to be part of this chapter of the WTO story and I stand ready to compete for the position,” she said.

“For my second term, I intend to focus on delivering.”

She added that among the priorities were addressing “unfinished business”.

In 2020, the administration of former United States President Donald Trump blocked Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment – a move seen by some as an attack on an organisation he had previously described as “horrible”.

The United States said it favoured her opponent; South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, because the WTO needed “someone with real, hands-on experience in the field”.

However, on February 15, 2021, Okonjo-Iweala secured US backing after Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Speaking on the odds of getting limited chances if Trump wins the forthcoming election, she said, “I don’t focus on that because I have no control”.

Commenting on the job, the WTO chief admitted it was difficult.

Okonjo-Iweala said the geopolitical tensions among WTO’s 166 members “was a significant challenge”.

“It is tough, you know, very tough. There’s no getting away from that. But it’s also a job that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning,” she added.

Okonjo-Iweala’s term elapses at the end of August 2025 and she is eligible for a second four-year term.

The former Nigerian minister assumed office as DG WTO on March 1, 2021 for a single term of four years.

Prior to her position at WTO, she served twice as a minister of finance in Nigeria from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and briefly acted as foreign minister in 2006.

Okonjo-Iweala also served two tenures at the World Bank, first as a development economist and vice president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group between 1982 and 2003, and later as managing director of operations from 2007 to 2011.