THE United States gave its formal backing to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to lead the World Trade Organization, removing the final obstacle to her bid to be the first woman and the first African to run the Geneva-based trade body.
“Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy,” the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement Friday.
“She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.”
The USTR added it “looks forward to working with a new WTO director-general to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO.”
The Biden administration’s decision to support Okonjo-Iweala’s campaign will be viewed in Geneva as a welcome shift in U.S. support for the multilateral trading system following four years of salvos against an organization that former President Donald Trump previously called
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