WTO: We are happy with the new US administration to embrace Okonjo-Iweala as its candidate — President Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed happiness over the pronouncement of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, to embrace Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General of World Trade Organization, WTO.
In a statement obtained by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated: “We certainly welcome the decision of the new U.S administration to remove the last obstacle in the path of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to becoming the first female and the first person of African descent to lead the organization.
“Nigeria and the entire African continent are happy about this new U.S position, which signifies a shift and an important turnaround in the relations between our continent and the United States under the Biden administration.
“Today, we see that the United States stands with Nigeria and Africa with the acceptance of our widely respected citizen, Okonjo-Iweala to lead the WTO. We look forward to working very closely with the new U.S administration on this and all issues of common interests, especially in such areas as accelerated economic growth, fight against terrorism and deepening progress on development issues.’’
In a statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative sighted by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com, the nation had previously stated: “The United States takes note of today’s decision by the Republic of Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee to withdraw her candidacy for Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Biden-Harris Administration is pleased to express its strong support for the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the WTO.
“Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister.”
“The Biden-Harns Administration also congratulates Minister Yoo Myung-hee on her strong campaign for this position. She is a trailblazer as the Republic of Korea’s first female trade minister and the first candidate from Korea to advance this far in the Director-General selection process.
“The United States respects her decision to withdraw her candidacy from the Director-General race to help facilitate a consensus decision at the WTO. It is particularly important to underscore that two highly qualified women made it to the final round of consideration for the position of WTO Director-General – the first time that any woman has made it to this stage in the history of the institution.
“The United States stands ready to engage in the next phase of the WTO process for reaching a consensus decision on the WTO Director-General. The Biden Administration looks forward to working with a new WTO Director-General to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO.”
