What You Need To Know About The EU’s Backing Of Okonjo-Iweala To Lead The WTO

What is the state of the race for the leadership of the World Trade Organisation?

The final round in the election for the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, the multilateral body that regulates world trade, pits former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala against South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee. The winner, who will be the WTO’s first female director-general, will take the reins as the global trading system comes under significant pressure from an ongoing trade war between the United States and China and amid unprecedented disruption caused by Covid-19. In a significant coup for Okonjo-Iweala, European Union ambassadors confirmed this week that the Nigerian, who would be the first African director-general of the organisation, has secured the support of the EU’s 27 member states following discussions in Brussels last week after hearings with both candidates.  

Why has the European Union backed Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala?

On 21 October,