BEVERLY HILLS, February 06, (THEWILL) – Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed appreciation to the United States, President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians for the support she has enjoyed so far in her bid to become director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Okonjo-Iweala, who was vying for the job with the Republic of Korea’s Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, expressed her gratitude via her verified Twitter handle shortly after she was endorsed for the top job by the U.S. government, on Friday night.
While the majority of the member-countries of the organisation had endorsed the Nigerian candidate, Ms Myung-hee had enjoyed the support of former U.S. President Donald Trump, in her bid to become the WTO DG.
On Friday, the Korean minister, Yoo Myung-hee, announced her withdrawal to lead the international trade body, making Okonjo-Iweala the sole candidate for the job.
Following the development, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in a statement, said, “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.
“Dr 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.
“She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.”
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was nominated as Nigeria’s candidate to lead the WTO by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020.
She is a Nigerian-American economist and international development expert who has a 25-year career at the World Bank, scaling the ranks to the second top position of Managing Director, Operations.
The Delta State-born economist served two terms as the minister of finance under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan respectively.
