World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala formally won a second term on Friday, setting the stage for a possible clash next year with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over the future of the rules-based trading system.
The 70-year-old Nigerian economist was the only candidate for the high-profile post, but her approval still required the support — or at least the acquiescence — of all 166 WTO members, including the United States.
“WTO members today agreed to give incumbent Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a second term as Director-General of the WTO,” the Geneva-based global trade body said in a statement.
Her current term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process for the next mandate had initially been scheduled to take months.
But with Okonjo-Iweala the only candidate, African countries called for the process to be speeded up, officially to facilitate preparations for the WTO’s next big ministerial conference, set to be held in Cameroon in 2026.
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