Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made history as she became the first woman, African to be appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She began term on March 1, and on her first day, urged for technology transfer as far as COVID-19 vaccines are concerned. She also urged that member nations reach a deal on reducing overfishing.
“It cannot be business as usual. We have to change our approach from debate and rounds of questions to delivering results,” she told the General Council. “The world is leaving the WTO behind. Leaders and decision-makers are impatient for change,” she added.
Photo credit: Instagram/@ngoziadaiwe
While addressing the issue of COVID-19 vaccines, the Director General said, “I propose that we ‘walk and chew gum’ by also focusing on the immediate needs of dozens of poor countries that have yet to vaccinate a single person. People are dying in poor countries. So we must focus on working with companies to open up and license more viable manufacturing sites now in emerging markets and developing countries. We must get them to work with us on know-how and technology transfer now.”
When the announcement of her appointment was made a few days ago, Okonjo-Iweala had stated that her key priority would be to address the consequences (economic and health) of the pandemic. “A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again. Our organization 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 statement.