The 27 European Union member states have backed Nigeria’s former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in her bid to become the first African and first female director-general of the World Trade Organisation.

The EU member states are France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

The latest support for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy brings the number of countries officially endorsing her to 106 out of the 164 states that comprise the WTO.

The 55-member African Union had earlier officially supported the former World Bank director over her sole remaining opponent, Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea.

Okonjo-Iweala had also won the goodwill of a group of Caribbean and Pacific States as well as others from Asia.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the European Parliament endorsed Okonjo-Iweala to head the WTO, saying she is well-equipped. The Parliament had subsequently written the EU to support the Nigerian candidate.

When EU member states convened on Monday, they failed to find a consensus around the choice but the EU representatives reconvened and agreed to back Okonjo-Iweala, according to AFP news agency.

The WTO’s consultation process ends today and the new leader is expected to be named in November but an EU official said the EU will publicly announce its support for the 66-year-old economist today, according to AFP.

The final winner between the two women will replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo and former director-general of the 25-year-old trade organisation.

– News Express

OTHER SOURCE:

WTO Race Enters Final Stretch With Okonjo-Iweala Gaining a Big Boost – Bloomberg

By Bryce BaschukOctober 27, 2020, 8:00 AM EDT

The European Union’s 27 members agreed to support Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organization.

It’s a major coup for Nigeria’s former finance minister who had to compete with a full-throttle lobbying campaign conducted by her opponent, Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea.

Yoo reportedly received some diplomatic help from President Moon Jae-in, who personally called more than a dozen world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to remind them how many jobs South Korea has created abroad.

South Korean officials were particularly keen to court nations like the Czech Republic, where Hyundai built a 1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) automobile factory in 2008. Likewise, the Koreans sought support from Slovakia, where the Kia Motors built a 1 billion-euro plant in 2006.

That’s one of the benefits of being a government employee for an Asian trade juggernaut that spends nearly $250 billion a year in outward foreign direct investment — you get to call in favors when it really counts.

Weekend Holdouts

The high-level outreach helped supercharge Yoo’s self-described underdog candidacy and temporarily swayed more than a handful of Eastern European nations which, as recently as Sunday, were still backing Yoo.

But in the end, EU trade ministers on Monday put their differences aside.

An EU endorsement can generate more than 27 votes in Geneva given how countries in Europe but outside the bloc such as Norway, Switzerland and aspiring members in the western Balkans (North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro) tend to follow its lead on such matters.

For some Europeans, supporting Okonjo-Iweala could help advance the bloc’s goal of strengthening strategic ties with Africa. For others, her political clout, reform plans, and connections as a veteran of the World Bank and as chair of the Gavi Vaccine Alliance helped tip the scales in favor of her bid to fix the broken organization.

Okonjo-Iweala now arrives at the final day of consultations with a strong level of support across Europe, Africa, parts of Latin America and even a few crucial Asia-Pacific nations like Japan. To some, she seems a lock to be the consensus pick come early November when the decision is expected to be made.

Until you consider that the world’s two biggest economies aren’t saying publicly yet whether they’ll block her path.

“It’s easy to conclude that the curtains may be closing for Yoo,” said Wendy Cutler, a vice president of the Asia Society in Washington. “But there are other important unknowns, including whom the U.S. and China are supporting, to conclude that this race is over.”

—Bryce Baschuk in Geneva