Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - The African Mirror

Mar

2021

U.S. vice president, WTO chief agree on need to reform global trade body

VICE President Kamala Harris and the head of the World Trade Organization have agreed about the need to reform the global trade body and pledged to work together to boost momentum for the global economy, the White House said. Harris, the first Black and Asian U.S. vice president and the first woman to hold the office, offered strong support to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first African and first woman to head the Geneva-based organization, in a phone call on Thursday, the White House said. Okonjo-Iweala is a former Nigerian finance minister. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala "They committed to work together to address the…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Rich, poor nations lock horns over bid to waive COVID vaccine patents

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa and India planned to renew their bid at a two-day meeting to waive rules of the WTO's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, a move that would allow generic or other manufacturers to make more vaccines. Their proposal is backed by dozens of largely developing countries at the WTO, but opposed by Western countries including Britain, Switzerland, EU nations and the United States, which have large domestic pharmaceutical industries. Proposals need backing by a consensus of the WTO's 164 members to pass. The issue was set to come up at the WTO's TRIPS Council on Wednesday afternoon.…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

WTO chief hits the ground running

NEWS

EMMA FARGE and PHILIP BLENKINSOP THE new chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has urged its member states to work with pharmaceutical companies to license more COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in developing countries in order to triple global production. "People are dying in poor countries," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on her first day in office. "The world has a normal capacity of production of 3.5 billion doses of vaccines and we now seek to manufacture 10 billion doses." Her call comes as a group of developing countries led by South Africa and India seek to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

History-maker Okonjo-Iweala “ready to go”

NEWS

EMMA FARGE THE World Trade Organization's first female and first African director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala began work today, ending a six-month leadership void at the global trade watchdog. After a long campaign that was derailed in the late stages by a Trump administration veto, the 66-year-old Nigerian was finally confirmed as boss last month, pledging to "forget business as usual" at the body which is struggling to strike new deals and whose arbitration functions are paralysed. "It feels great. I am coming into one of the most important institutions in the world and we have a lot of work to do.…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

First woman, first African: Meet the ‘troublemaker’

NEWS

ADAOBI TRICIA NWAUBANI NIGERIA'S Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – an elite economist who has confronted corruption and kidnappers at home and risen to the top ranks of the World Bank, is poised to become the first woman and first African in charge of policing global trade. Backed by U.S. President Joe Biden to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO), the 66-year-old Harvard graduate was dubbed "troublemaker" by friends and foes alike in Nigeria for her vigour in championing the poor and fighting the good fight. It is a nickname the former finance minister was fond of. "It was a badge of honour. If…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

How global and local experience would play out in WTO top job

BUSINESS

THE global economy faces profound uncertainties, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, faith in the efficacy of international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been weakened by a power struggle between China and the US. EZEBUILO UKWUEZE, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, Nsukka, University of Nigeria As the process for appointing a new head of the organisation moves into its final phase, it’s worth considering what front runner Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could bring to the complex role of managing an international organisation, including designing and implementing reforms. The WTO describes itself as…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Africans asked to help Okonjo-Iweala make world history

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER The African Union (AU) has asked all Africans to rally behind Nigerian Dr Nkonzo Okonjo-Iweala, who stands on the brink of making history as the first African to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO). AU chairperson and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has heaped praise on Dr Nkonzo Okonjo-Iweala who together with South Korean Yoo Myung-hee are the two finalists for the position of the director-general of the WTO. Ramaphosa said Okonjo-Iweala was a highly distinguished African, who has excelled in various public offices, in her native Nigeria, including responsibilities in the AU, and in numerous international…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

‘WTO should play role in COVID-19 medicine access’

COVID-19

EMMA FARGE A key contender to head the World Trade Organization thinks the body should play a role in helping poorer countries access COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, and this topic should be part of negotiations if she wins. Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, seen by delegates as a top candidate to lead the WTO, currently chairs the GAVI vaccine alliance board and stressed her credentials among five remaining candidates "at the intersection between public health and trade". "Trade can contribute to public health - seeing that connection, invoking those (WTO) rules, actively discussing COVID-19 issues and how WTO can help," the former…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Two African women in final five for WTO leadership race

BUSINESS

EMMA FARGE THREE women, two of them from Africa, advanced to the second round of selection to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization as the field was cut from eight to five, the Geneva-based body has announced. The WTO is looking for a new director-general to replace Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down a year earlier than expected at the end of August. The 25-year-old trade body has never had a leader who is female or from Africa. The five to go through to the next round are Kenyan minister Amina Mohamed, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Okonjo-Iweala fits the bill to be the new head of the WTO

BUSINESS

MILLS SOKO, Professor: International Business & Strategy, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand MZUKISI QOBO, Head: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand THE next director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will replace Brazilian Roberto de Azevedo, who has served since 2013 and plans to step down at the end of August, a year before the conclusion of his term. Of the eight candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring, three are from Africa. They are the former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the former Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed, who also previously served as…