IISD Welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Next Head of the World Trade Organization

The IISD welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the first woman and first African to lead the WTO, noting her diverse experience in finance, health, and development. The organization identifies critical early priorities for her term, including fisheries subsidies and humanitarian food aid exemptions, while advocating for a trade system that supports sustainable development and the SDGs in a post-COVID reality.

• The appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as WTO Director-General on February 15, 2021, marks the first time a woman and an African have led the global trade body, signaling a commitment to gender equality and the importance of African economies in multilateral trade.
• Okonjo-Iweala possesses a multidisciplinary background as a Ph.D.-level economist with experience in finance, public health, foreign affairs, disaster risk management, and development, having held roles at the World Bank, the Nigerian government, Gavi, and African Risk Capacity.
• Immediate priorities for the new WTO chief include finalizing a deal to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies and ensuring that humanitarian food aid from the UN’s World Food Programme is exempt from export restrictions.
• The IISD argues that the WTO must be transitioned into a post-COVID reality where sustainable development is central and trade is managed so that it does not obstruct the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2021). IISD Welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Next Head of the World Trade Organization. https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/iisd-welcomes-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-next-head-world-trade-organization

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. IISD Welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Next Head of the World Trade Organization. 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/iisd-welcomes-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-next-head-world-trade-organization.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=IISD Welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Next Head of the World Trade Organization |date=12 February 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/iisd-welcomes-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-next-head-world-trade-organization |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2021iisd, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{IISD Welcomes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Next Head of the World Trade Organization}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/iisd-welcomes-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-next-head-world-trade-organization}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }