Former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated his former Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on becoming the first female and African Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The appointment of Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was confirmed by the 164-member organisation on Monday.
In a statement, the new WTO DG said her first priority would be to quickly address the economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and to “implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again.”
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“Our organisation faces a great many challenges but working together we can collectively make the WTO stronger, more agile and better adapted to the realities of today,” she said.
In a short statement he personally signed, Jonathna said, “I congratulate Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who served as the Coordinating Minister for the Economy/Minister of Finance in my cabinet, on her emergence as the new Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), after a long-drawn-out selection process.
“You have excelled in all the responsibilities you have handled both for your country and for the global community.
“I am convinced that your leadership of the 164 nation-member organization will bring about improved trade relations and progress across the world’s different economic spectrum.”