President Muhammadu Buhari says he welcomes the pronouncement of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, signifying withdrawal of the country’s objection to the emergence of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO).
President Buhari stated this in a Saturday statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Recall that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in a statement backing her, said that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is bringing a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigeria’s Finance Minister.
“She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organisation with a diverse membership,” the statement read.
This support followed the decision of the Republic of Korea’s Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee to withdraw her candidacy for the post of Director-General of the WTO.
The WTO DG is appointed by consensus of member nations.
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“We certainly welcome the decision of the new U.S administration to remove the last obstacle in the path of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to becoming the first female and the first person of African descent to lead the organization,” President Buhari said.
“Nigeria and the entire African continent are happy about this new U.S position, which signifies a shift and an important turnaround in the relations between our continent and the United States under the Biden administration.
“Today, we see that the United States stands with Nigeria and Africa with the acceptance of our widely respected citizen, Okonjo-Iweala to lead the WTO. We look forward to working very closely with the new U.S administration on this and all issues of common interests, especially in such areas as accelerated economic growth, fight against terrorism and deepening progress on development issues.’’
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