Luanda - The Republic of Angola congratulated, on Monday, the election of Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in Geneva, Switzerland, as displayed in an announcement to which Angop had access.
In a statement, during the special meeting of the General Council of the WTO, Angola expressed its satisfaction with the election of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and for being the first African woman and the only one, so far, to occupy the position of Director-General of this International organization.
Despite all the limitations due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Angola hopes that the 162 members of the WTO will redouble their efforts and jointly promote the success and improvement of the organization's image, emphasizing that the country is ready to play its role and provide all necessary support to the new Director-General of the WTO.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was twice Minister of Finance and holder of Nigeria's Foreign Affairs portfolio for two months. She started her career at the World Bank in 1982, where she worked for 25 years, and now, as Director-General of the WTO, she will take up her duties in March of this year.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the international body responsible for legislating and monitoring economic and commercial transactions carried out between different countries.
One of its main objectives is to act as a forum for negotiations and agreements to reduce obstacles to international trade, to promote global trade liberalization, with a view to combating Customs protectionism, in which a nation imposes high tariffs on foreign products in order to favour the local industry.
Created on January 1, 1995, with the Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO is headquartered in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, and deals with the regulation of trade among its member states, aiming at strengthening the participants' adherence to the organization's agreements.
