Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reacts after the US rejected her appointment as new Director-General of the World Trade Organization

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has reacted after the United States rejected her as the consensus candidate for appointment as new Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

Okonjo-Iweala was slated to be the new WTO Director-General.  She had won the support from the vast majority of member states, including the EU, Japan and China. However, the United States representative at World Trade Organization took to the floor to insist that South Korea’s candidate remained a contender and that Washington will not recognise Okonjo-Iweala as the consensus candidate for appointment as director-general.

As a result, the General Counsel postponed its announcement of the new Director-General until a further meeting, which is scheduled for 9 November; after the US presidential elections.

Speaking one day after, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala tweeted: “Happy for the success & continued progress of our @wto DG bid.

“Very humbled to be declared the candidate with the largest, broadest support among members & most likely to attract consensus. We move on to the next step on Nov 9, despite hiccups. We’re keeping the positivity going!”

Happy for the success & continued progress of our @wto DG bid. Very humbled to be declared the candidate with the largest, broadest support among members & most likely to attract consensus. We move on to the next step on Nov 9, despite hiccups. We're keeping the positivity going!

— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) October 29, 2020