Eight candidates are in the running to regain the leadership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the departure of Director-General Roberto Azevedo.
World trade is at a standstill because of COVID-19. The prospect of a “no-deal” and a trade war between the United States and China is increasingly likely. This is a bad time to see the private World Trade Organization take the lead.
But the premature departure of Director-General Roberto Azevedo means that the WTO has no one at the helm. In a Twitter post, Azevedo, who joins beverage giant Pepsi, said that “international cooperation is not easy, but it is necessary to meet the needs of an interconnected world. Without cooperation, all countries will be even worse off”.
The WTO must both manage the negotiation of trade agreements among its 164 members and also play a mediating role in disputes between countries. This has not really been possible since last December. The United States, which accuses the international body of outbidding, has blocked the appointment of new judges.
Eight candidates for the post, including three Africans
“Can we find a long-term solution? How fast can we do it? What would that solution be,” Roberto Azevedo wondered last December, questions to which Azevedo’s successor will have to try to find answers quickly.
Eight candidates have declared themselves for the position and three of them are African: the Kenyan Amina Mohamed, the Egyptian Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh, and the Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The list will be reduced in mid-September and a replacement should be named by November. But if disagreements persist, it could be another year before the next WTO leader is known.
A brief overview at who are these three African candidates:
- Egypt: Hamid Mamdouh, 67 years old, also a Swiss national, trained as a lawyer, has more than 35 years of experience as a negotiator and then as a senior official at the WTO. Since his departure from the institution, he joined a Geneva law firm specializing in trade issues. He was part of a list of three persons validated by the African Union for the elections supposed to take place in 2021.
- Kenya: Amina Mohamed, 58 years old, member of the bar in Nairobi, an expert on the WTO, whose three most important bodies she chaired when she was ambassador in Geneva to the UN and the WTO (2000-2006). A former UN Under-Secretary-General, she led Kenya’s diplomacy until 2018. An unsuccessful candidate in the election for the WTO leadership in 2013, she is currently Minister of Sports, Heritage, and Culture.
- Nigeria: Okonjo-Iweala, 66, World Bank official for 25 years, former Minister of Finance (2002-2006 & 2011-2015). She regularly appears in the rankings of the world’s most influential people. She currently chairs GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. She is also leading one of WHO’s programs to fight VIDC-19.
Source: Africanews
