- 58 Member-Countries Throw Weight Behind Okonjo-Iweala’s Second Term Bid
By Abiola Olawale
Fifty-eight members out of the total 164 member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have declared their support for the Director-General of the organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to serve a second term as the later’s seat becomes vacant next year.
The 58 members passed a vote of confidence on Okonjo-Iweala as she finishes at the end of August 2025.
This information was shared in a statement released by the WTO on its website.
The 58 members declared that they endorsed the African Group’s call for an early start to the Director-General selection process and requested Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be available for a second term.
It would be recalled that the African Group, consisting of 44 African member countries of the WTO and nine observers, had requested WTO chief Okonjo-Iweala to run for a second term as head of the global trade watchdog.
Supporting the call, the 58 members said Okonjo-Iweala is hardworking and has achieved numerous projects during her first term.
“Fifty-eight WTO members took the floor at a 22 July meeting of the WTO General Council to voice support for a proposal from the African Group calling for an early start to the Director-General selection process and asking the incumbent, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to make herself available to serve a second term,” the statement read in part.
The New Diplomat reports that Okonjo-Iweala became the seventh Director-General of the WTO on March 1, 2021. She is the first woman and the first African to lead the organization. Her current term will end on August 31, 2025.
Okonjo-Iweala is a distinguished global finance expert, economist, and international development professional with over 40 years of experience spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
She served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister twice (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly as Foreign Minister in 2006, making history as the first woman to hold both positions.
