AMINA MOHAMEDCANDIDATE FOR DIRECTOR GENERALOF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATIONThe Government of Kenya is pleased topresent the candidacy of Ambassador
Amina Mohamed for the position ofDirector-General of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
Ambassador Mohamed has served her
own country and the international
community with distinction for more than
30 years. She has held senior positions
both at home and in international
institutions.
Ambassador
Mohamedhas
madeexceptional contributions to international
trade governance. She chaired the first
WTO Ministerial Conference to be held inAfrica and steered the meeting to a
successful conclusion.
Minister Mohamed has held the most senior chairperson positions at the WTO, including that ofChairperson of the General Council. Currently, She is the President of the 14th session of the UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former Assistant Secretary General andDeputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
As we navigate the gravest public health, socio-economic and political crisis to afflict us indecades, the world needs a well-functioning, credible and effective multilateral trading system.
Even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the WTO faced serious challenges and calls
for reform. The task facing the WTO now is enormous. The need for effective leadership is more
important than ever as the institution reshapes itself to meet the current challenges that face us.
The length and breadth of her experience at the WTO and the Multilateral Trading System
combined with her extensive track record in international relations and her political experience, I
believe is unparalleled. My experience working with her over the years and watching her workwith others has convinced me that she is a master consensus builder. She listens to advice andworks hard to find common ground. In the years to come, Africa is going to play a growing role in
the world economy and its interests in an effective, equitable and inclusive system of trade
governance is bound to grow as well. Ambassador Mohamed has the vision and capacity to unite
all WTO Members in pursuit of their common interest. She is uniquely qualified to lead the WTO
at this critical time. Moreover, Ambassador Mohamed would be the first African and the firstwoman Director-General.
I unreservedly endorse Ambassador Mohamed’s candidacy for the WTO’s next Director-Generaland urge you to do the same.

H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta C.G.H.
President of the Republic of Kenya

AMINA MOHAMEDVISION STATEMENT
The multilateral trading system is at a crossroads. It is being buffeted bystrong head winds from many directions. It needs to be rescued andrestored

to its former illustrious position. I have the required political,

technical, diplomatic and managerial skills to revive the WTO andstrengthen the multilateral trading system for the benefit of all WTOmembers.
Seven decades ago, far-sighted post-war leaders shaped a new economicorder. In so doing, they steered the world away from the aftermath of theGreat Depression and the catastrophe of armed conflict onto a path ofprogress. The vision underpinning this architecture of international
governance emphasized multilateral cooperation. The period from the1950s to the early years of the twenty-first century was one ofunprecedented growth and development. Trade was a big part of thatstory.
The GATT and now the WTO have evolved over the years, encompassing
an ever-growing number of Members and a broadening range of traderelated issues. Few would question the proposition that the GATT/WTO
system is the indispensable backbone of international trade cooperation.
Yet today, the multilateral trading system faces difficulties that are morechallenging than anything since the founding of the GATT in the late
1940s.

"The WTO should give effect to its
development objectives in a practical andenabling way."I have seen women multiply theiropportunities in international
trade in ways that once seemed
impossible. I believe that theinclusion of women in trade will
enable countries to develop fasterand in a more equitable andinclusive way.

THE REFORM

The view is widely shared that the WTO is in need of urgent reform. The Organization wasalready in difficulties before COVID-19 struck. Its negotiating function had faltered, yielding
limited successes in the last twenty years. Trade tensions were building over this period,
leading a number of major trading economies to take contested measures against one
another in what was increasingly characterized as trade war. The dispute settlement system
is compromised as the Appellate Body ceased to operate. On top of an already fraught
situation, COVID-19 is likely to trigger the most severe economic contraction since the GreatDepression. No country is in a position to manage the COVID-19 crisis alone, yet protectionist
trade actions threaten collective action to beat the virus. History tells us how the stifling oftrade through protectionist reactions made the Great Depression last longer and cut deeper
The GATT and subsequently the WTO were established precisely to prevent such mutuallydestructive behaviour. It is our duty to make sure that today the multilateral trading system
is allowed to do the work for which it was established. We need to reignite the visionary
inspiration of the original architects of the system.

Renewal has to start with facing up squarely to thedefects that have weakened the system in recent years:
the inability to update rules to reflect changing realities;
the sterility of ideological standoffs; the retreat into
defensiveness; and the sense of the benefits not being
equitably sharedI am running on myexperience anddetermination to facilitate
WTO reforms towards a
stable, transparent and an
all-inclusive trading system.

AMINA MOHAMED

THE RECOVERY
Governments need to breathe new life into the WTO so it can playa catalytic role in facilitating recovery from the crisis and rebuilding
economic resilience. The critical issue to be addressed is how toreform the WTO to ensure that it makes a positive contribution to
the global economy for the benefit of all its Members. We need tobreak the cycle of despair and enter into a new phase of hope andrealism. Reviving trade will be essential to recovery worldwide. It
will also be key to national strategies to boost growth andsustainable development, thereby easing the social and economicimpact of the crisis.
Once recovery is under way, however, we will still face the need to
update the trading system to respond appropriately to pressing
global issues like climate change, the digital revolution, deepening
poverty and sustainable development. The WTO should be wheregovernments come together to forge trade responses based on
concertation among themselves, sharing of best practices, andreaffirmation of key principles. Bilateral and Regional Trade
Agreements can bring important benefits, especially wherelocalized interests relevant to near neighbours are at stake. But atrading world networked by overlapping preferential arrangements
among subsets of economies cannot be a substitute for the rulesbased multilateral trading system.

The WTO has to engage again in good faithnegotiations, and this means openness tochange and to new ideas, within a culture ofinclusiveness and transparency.
Renewal should also build upon the WTO’s
core values and achievements. Trade has beentransformational. It has helped to lift close to 1
billion people out of poverty and facilitatedthe attainment of higher living standards incountries at all levels of development.
Thesesuccesses

werepossible

becauseMembers did not see trade as a zero-sumgame.

Theyunderstoodthat

trade-offs

needed to be made to produce outcomes. All
Members should contribute to trade opening
and facilitation efforts, especially those mostin a position to do so.
The WTO’s dispute settlement function is key
to the credibility and effectiveness of the rules.
We need to find a way through its problems
to make it once again something that all
Members can use with confidence.
The rules are the backbone of the system, butthe multilateral trading system is more than

THE RENEWAL

just a rulebook. It is also the regular meetingsof the delegates and representatives of each
Member who come together to resolve trade

Renewal has to start with facing up squarely
to the defects that have weakened thesystem in recent years: the inability to update
rules

to

reflectchanging

commercialrealities; the sterility of ideological standoffs;
the retreat into defensiveness; and the senseof the benefits not being equitably shared.

tensions and disputes. It is the transparency
andmonitoringoftradedevelopments

around the world. It is our national legislators
who determine the way in which each
Member implements and administers their
WTO obligations.

AMINA MOHAMED

THE RENEWAL
It is non-governmental organizations which seek to make their priorities
known. It is the companies that want to trade under stable and predictableconditions. It is the support provided through technical assistance fordeveloping countries, including the least-developed ones, to boost their
participation in international trade.
We need a WTO that is fair and equitable, taking into account the level of
economic development of each Member. All WTO Members must therefore
be prepared to contribute so that the organization is improved andstrengthened to face current challenges, able to facilitate trade for thebenefit of all, and capable of contributing to economic recovery from thepandemic. The WTO should give effect to its development objectives in apractical and enabling way, not forgetting its special responsibility towards
African and least-developed countries, which have been operating at theperiphery of the multilateral trading system. It also needs to play its part in
the important task of advancing the economic empowerment of women
through trade.
Having been elected by the membership to chair the top WTO bodies, I am
acutely aware that it is a Member-driven organization. The role of the DG has
been described as that of a facilitator. This includes overseeing theSecretariat efficiently and impartially. It also includes helping the Members
deliberate and converge on issues.
If I am selected as WTO DG, I will work collaboratively and inclusively with all
Members to help them reach convergence on reform and renewal of theorganization. The role of Director-General can have a considerable positive
influence in moving forward the work of the WTO. I would use this influenceenergetically, but sensitively, to help return the WTO to full effectiveness as aforce for growth and stability in the world.

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Amina Mohamed has all the qualities andAs Kenya’s Foreign Affairs and International

experience the WTO needs in a Director-Trade Minister from 2013 to 2018, sheGeneral for this decade. As a Minister andchaired

Ambassador, she has already guided theConference in Nairobi. As the first woman

organization successfully as Chairperson ofand first African to chair the WTO’s highest

allbodies,forum, she played a crucial role in reaching

including the Ministerial Conference (2015),

positive outcomes, especially the decision

the General Council (2005), the Disputeto eliminate export subsidies in agriculture.

Settlement Body (2004) and the Trade Policy

This was the first fulfilment of a UN

Review Body (2004). Her skills of strategic

Sustainable

leadership,

SDG2-Zero Hunger.

itshighest

decision-making

effective

communication,

the2015WTO

Development

MinisterialGoal,

under

institutional reform and consensus building
have made a major contribution to theAmbassador Mohamed was the Permanent

WTO’s key achievements of recent years.

Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, National
Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs fromHer background, knowledge and range of2008 to - 2011.She was in charge of thehigh-level experience give her a uniquely

constitutional

broad and inclusive perspective on theculminated in the promulgation of thechallenges facing the multilateral trading2010 Constitution of Kenya. She managed

system and she has the ability to address

far reaching legal and Institutional reforms

them effectively. She also offers the WTO

ever realized in Kenya. She also chaired theproven expertise in managing large andAnnualcomplex organizations

Conference.

reviewMulti-Stakeholder

processEthics

thatandAMINA MOHAMED

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS
From 2000 to 2006, Amina was Kenya’s
Permanent

RepresentativeandAmbassador to the WTO. She was the firstwoman to chair the General Council in2005 and the Dispute Settlement Body.
As General Council Chair, she brokered anagreement

ofmajorimportance

todeveloping countries, an amendment to
the TRIPS Agreement to assist countries
with insufficient manufacturing capacities
in the production of essential drugs totreat

diseasessuchasHIV/AidsandTuberculosis. She was also the first woman
to chair the African Group at the WTO andadvanced African interests successfully at
the WTO and in UN bodies.
She was Assistant Secretary-General of theUnited Nations and Deputy Executive
Director of UNEP from 2011 to 2013 andhelped advance its agenda to addresscontemporarychallenges

facingtheFrom 2008 to 2011, she was Permanent Secretary at
the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion andConstitutional Affairs. In all these roles, she haspromoted development and diversity, particularly
the educational, social and economic empowerment

organization. Given her trade background,of women.

she was particularly interested in theAmina is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

interface between trade and environment,She

believing in their complementarity andDegree in Law from Taras Shevchenko University inmutual supportiveness.

Kiev, Ukraine, attended the Kenya School of Law andobtained

herUndergraduateandMastersobtained a Postgraduate Diploma in International
Amina’s Ministerial portfolios have also

Relations as a Chevening Fellow at the Oxford

included Education, Science, Technology

University, United Kingdom. She is a UNITAR Fellow,and Innovation (2018-19)

is fluent in English, Kiswahili, and Russian, and has

and Sports,

Culture and Heritage (2019 to present).

basic knowledge of French.

“If I am selected as WTO DirectorGeneral, I will work
collaboratively and inclusively
with all Members to help themreach convergence on reformand renewal of the WTO.”

Amina Mohamed
For more information visit
www.aminamohamedwto.com
or contact press@aminamohamedwto.com