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US opposition stalls Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as the head of WTO
By Modupe Shodeinde
The four-month selection process to find the next Director General of the World Trade Organization has encountered a last minute glitch after the United States opposed the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next head of the organisation.
Okonjo-Iweala was slated to be the new director-general of the World Trade Organization, however, there was an unexpected glitch in the process when the US opposed the appointment and declared it’s support of South Korea’s Yoo Mhung-hee as the candidate with the needed experience.
On Wednesday, a WTO nominations committee recommended the group’s 164 members appoint Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She moved a step closer to becoming the head of the World Trade Organisation after getting support from key WTO ambassadors as the best candidate to lead the organisation.
She however failed to win the support of the US which brought a stalemate to the process since the WTO chooses its director general by consensus, with all 164 members having to approve a candidate.
In response to this, the General Counsel has postponed its announcement of the new Director-General until the the 9th of November; after the US presidential elections, when it hopes to make a final decision.
