JOB/GC/234  
 
24 July 2020  
(20-5124) Page: 1/4 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
GENERAL COUNCIL - 15, 16 AND 17 JULY 202 0 
APPOINTMENT OF THE N EXT DIRECTOR -GENERAL  - MEETING WITH THE CANDIDATES  
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PRESENTATION TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF T HE WORLD TRADE ORGAN IZATION BY 
DR. (MRS.)  NGOZI OKONJO -IWEALA  
15 JULY 2020  
Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to meet with delegations to talk about my candidacy for the 
post of WTO Director -General.  I am here bec ause trade is vital for a prosperous 21st century and 
the WTO is needed more than ever before. Mais Monsieur le Président de Conseil, avant de prononcer 
mon discours, j 'aimerais présenter mes sincères condoléances à quiconque qui aurait perdu un 
membre de la famille à cause du COVID -19 et pour ceux qui sont malades, je leur souhaite un bon 
rétablissement . In my statement, I will be focusing on my motivations for becoming a candidate, as 
well as my vision for this organization.   
 
Since the creation of the GA TT in 1948, the growth of trade has gone hand in hand with the large 
expansion of the global economy that has resulted in increased living standards around the world 
and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the developing world.   
 
The WT O plays an essential role in world trade through mechanisms designed to foster transparency, 
predictability and stability in the MTS, monitor trade developments, promote exchanges and build 
trust. It also assists developing countries, especially the least developed and small economies, to 
boost trade through technical assistance and capacity building. Trade and trade policy have rightly 
become central to national development strategies.  
 
In recent years, the multilateral trading system (MTS) has been going through difficult and 
challenging times.  But, in my view, the world now needs, more than ever, a reinvigorated WTO.   
 
The challenges facing the WTO did not start with the current pandemic. Since 1995, the negotiating 
function of the WTO has not produced ma ny results and although there have been some successful 
agreements, key areas like agriculture remain stuck.  The WTO appears paralysed at a time when its 
rule book would greatly benefit from an update to 21st century issues such as e -commerce and the 
digital economy, the green and circular economies. Issues of women and trade and Micro Small and 
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are important to ensure greater inclusion. Bridging the digital divide 
to enable Least Developed Countries and other developing countries  to participate will be key.  
 
Transparency and notification are critically important for a stable, predictable, and fair MTS. 
Businesses, large or small, eschew uncertainty as this increases transaction costs. Improving 
compliance in transparency and notif ication may require Technical Assistance and capacity building 
for Members who lack resources to comply.  
 
There will be a need to improve the functioning of the regular bodies by standardizing best practices. 
The Secretariat must be strengthened to enable  it better support Members in negotiations, 
implementation, monitoring and dispute settlement.  
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  Members ' views differ on a number of fundamental issues, such as special and differential treatment 
or the need for the WTO to tackle new issues and develop new or enhanced rules to deal with SOEs 
and agricultural subsidies, for example.  Trade tensions among the m embership have flared up, 
threatening the fundamental architecture of the MTS. With all these, the WTO, unfortunately, is now 
perceived by some as an inefficient organization that has failed to keep abreast of developments in 
the global economy.  
 
These ch allenges are unprecedented and have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis. As Chair of 
Gavi, I have the privilege of being in the frontlines of those working on accelerating tools to fight 
COVID -19. No one knows the trajectory of this pandemic. But one thin g is clear, the negative 
externalities on the world 's economy and society are profound and could linger on until the 
appropriate vaccines or therapeutics are found. Some policy responses, such as export restrictions 
to guarantee domestic access to food or medical supplies – can complicate, in the short run, efforts 
to re-invigorate the WTO. Similarly, there is need to ensure that stimulus packages granted by some 
Members do not undermine their WTO commitments by distorting production and trade.   
 
If all the se challenges are to be overcome, it will require strong engagement and commitment from 
all WTO Members. This is the only way the WTO can produce concrete results, and better respond 
to the needs of Members of all sizes and levels of economic development. If selected, I consider that 
I am well placed to work with Members to address these challenges.   
 
First, I am a strong believer in the role of trade and of the MTS to bring shared prosperity.  I can 
bring a fresh pair of eyes to the WTO 's challenges.  Renewing and improving the organization will 
require recalling the core objectives and principles on which the MTS was built – the value of open 
trade, competition and non -discrimination, security and predictability of market access, and 
transp arency.  These principles have contributed to economic growth and development and will 
continue to do so if Members renew their commitment to them.  
 
Second , confronting the challenges the WTO faces will necessarily require building trust among the 
membersh ip. Current problems are not solely of a technical nature.  If they were, they would have 
been solved long ago, given the technical expertise available among Members and in the WTO 
Secretariat.  A number of these problems require political solutions, and dee p experience in 
multilateral organizations, skills I would bring to the job.  
 
Throughout my career, I have been involved in difficult negotiations with high political stakes, such 
as tough economic reform programs, including trade policy reforms in a vari ety of middle and low 
income countries, and debt relief negotiations with both the Paris and London clubs. I have brokered 
numerous agreements that have produced win -win outcomes.  I have the skills to effectively engage 
governments and other stakeholders a nd build consensus around areas of common interest.   
 
For me, trade is a passion and a mission. As a development economist, I have worked on trade 
policy issues during my 25 -year career at the World Bank. As Finance Minister, the Nigerian Customs 
Service r eported to me, which meant work on trade facilitation. Together with my colleague, the 
Minister of Trade, I worked on the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs. If selected as WTO DG, I 
would spare no effort supporting Members to build bridges and foster trust, d iffuse political tensions, 
and encourage convergence.  I would work hard to earn the confidence of all Members to help steer 
the organization towards increased relevance and efficiency.  
 
Third, managing an international organization, including designing and  implementing reforms, is a 
complex matter.  I have a proven track record in carrying out successful reforms both at the World 
Bank and as Finance Minister in Nigeria.   
 
My vision is of a WTO with Purpose where Members coalesce around the capacity of trade to help 
foster economic growth and sustainable development.  A WTO with Trust where Members work in 
concert to solve problems. While a key objective of the WTO is the liberalization of trade for the 
mutual benefit of its Members, it appears that this very c oncept is now a divisive issue as a result 
of the perceived imbalances in the rights and obligations of Members and the perceived uneven 
distribution of the gains from trade. I would constantly remind Members about the value of the MTS 
and help energize th em to work harder to overcome the challenges that have paralyzed the WTO 
over the years.   
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  My vision is also of a rejuvenated and strengthened WTO that will be confident to tackle effectively 
ongoing issues such as the fisheries negotiations. With politica l will, outstanding issues of subsidies 
that lead to overfishing and unsustainable fishing can be concluded.  Agriculture has complex moving 
parts on which substantial progress will need to be made, be it on domestic support, Public 
Stockholding for Food Se curity (PSH), Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Cotton or market 
access.  A rejuvenated WTO must also take on fresh challenges, such as ensuring optimal 
complementarity between trade and the environment and ensuring that WTO rules best respond to 
the reali ties of e -commerce and the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy. A refreshed 
WTO must find solutions to the stalemate over dispute settlement. It is clear that a rules -based 
system without a forum in which a breach of the rules can be effect ively arbitrated loses credibility 
over time.   
 
We must have a WTO that works for the benefit of all Members regardless of size or level of economic 
development. LDCs and Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) should have opportunities to participate 
in regiona l and global supply chains to enhance their presence in the trading system. We must be 
sensitive to the particular policy challenges that those countries face. A revamped trading system 
should offer opportunities for MSMEs to increase and diversify their m arket access, enabling them 
to generate employment and contribute to economic growth and sustainable development. It should 
also be responsive to the challenge of facilitating the greater participation of women in international 
trade, particularly in devel oping countries, where greater efforts should be made to include women 
owned enterprises in the formal sector.  
 
Considering the plethora of challenges facing the global economy, including COVID -19 there is need 
for coherence in the policy responses of rel evant international organisations, including the FAO, 
World Bank, IMF, IFC, the regional development banks and WHO and UN System. As noted by the 
G20 Eminent Persons Group, institutions sometimes work at cross purposes. If selected, I will 
deepen the worki ng relationships with all relevant institutions to create synergies and coordinate 
support to Members.  
 
The stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations has led many Members in recent years to embark 
on plurilateral negotiations to advance particular issue s. The energy associated with those 
discussions has helped refocus attention on the WTO and would be best if these negotiations could 
produce outcomes that reinforce the multilateral trading system. Members have also entered into 
regional trade agreements to secure access to markets, tackle issues that are not sufficiently 
addressed in the WTO or that are not part of the multilateral rulebook. RTAs can complement 
multilateral efforts, and their success in tackling new and traditional issues should inspire W TO 
Members to do likewise.  But despite their benefits, RTAs cannot  be a perfect substitute for the MTS.  
In our times, countries cannot  solely rely on trade agreements with selected partners.  Technology 
and other innovations have reduced the impact of dista nce and the world is too connected.  
Companies, including MSMEs, are increasingly able to offer their products to consumers all around 
the world.  By linking economies of the world through basic common rules, the WTO has a unique 
value added.  The MTS also ha s unique challenges, but it merits our greatest efforts.   
 
Let me conclude by reiterating the importance of the WTO at this critical and uncertain period. The 
WTO is needed to ensure that trade and global markets remain open and are further extended. Its 
convening power and ability to provide a unique forum where countries can come together around 
shared interests is still vital and, in fact, indispensable. If the WTO did not exist, we would have to 
invent it. Given the interconnectedness of the world 's eco nomies, a collective response to current 
and emerging challenges will always be stronger than individual responses. As we put it in my igbo 
language, Aka nni Kwo aka ekpe, aka ekepe akwo akanni wancha adi ocha (If the right washes the 
left hand, and the le ft hand washes the right hand, then both become clean). This is a call for 
collective action. The rules -based MTS is a public good that underpins peace, security, stability and 
a chance for prosperity in the world.  Every effort should therefore be made to safeguard, improve 
and renew it to enable it effectively address the challenges of the 21st century.  
 
Excellencies, dear friends, I believe I bring exactly the right combination of skills and experience 
(public sector, private sector, international civil society, multilateral organizations and a worldwide 
network of contacts) needed to lead this organizati on in the future. Should I be elected, I would 
work with Members to prioritize delivering a successful MC12 with good outcomes on fisheries, 
agriculture and other areas. I would also prioritize updating the rulebook, unlocking the dispute 
settlement system , working on transparency and notification, enhancing the work of regular bodies, 
and strengthen the Secretariat. For me, it would be an honour and privilege to serve.  JOB/GC/234  
 
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Much as gracias.  
Syeh syeh.  
Arigato Gozaimashta.  
Shukran.  
Spaciba.  
Thank you.   
 
 
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