(Bloomberg) -- The UK wants the head of the World Trade Organization to be “successfully reappointed” for a second term this month, a government official said — well before a new Trump administration has a chance to weigh in on Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy.
Simon Manley, ambassador and permanent representative to the UK mission at the Geneva-based WTO, made the remarks at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. Okonjo-Iweala has Britain’s full support, he said.
“I’ve rarely seen anyone as hard-working, as networked and as visionary as Dr. Ngozi,” Manley said. “She’s brought visionary leadership to the organization.”
Running unopposed, Okonjo-Iweala is seeking a second four-year term at the helm of the 166-nation trade body to follow her current term, which expires on Aug. 31. She took office in March 2021.
The process by which WTO members are selecting their next leader looks like a race against the calendar as President-elect Donald Trump prepares for Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. During his first term, the US opposed Okonjo-Iweala’s initial bid to lead the organization.
Manley said there will be a special meeting of the General Council of the WTO at the end of next week, “at which we’ll hear from the director-general about her plans and proposals for a second term and then we hope that on Friday of next week a decision will be taken as to her appointment.”
That squares with a document circulated by General Council Chairperson Petter Ølberg which said the organization on Nov. 29 will “take a formal decision on the appointment of the next director-general.”
The WTO operates by consensus, meaning any one nation can block its decisions.
Asked if the UK government would be steadfast in its support if any other country opposes Okonjo-Iweala, Manley said “we hope that this process will continue to be done by the book as it’s been done all the way through, and that we will see her successfully reappointed by the end of next week.”
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