Browsing: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc (www.UBAgroup.com), is set to celebrate this year’s Africa Day in commemoration of African unity with the third edition of its annual UBA Africa Conversations, headlined by Africa’s international leaders that include  the President of Rwanda, H.E Mr Paul Kagame; Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation(WTO); Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation(WHO) and Mr. Makhtar Sop Diop, Managing Director, International Finance Corporation(IFC). The conversations will be held online on africaday.UBAgroup.com.

At a time of unparalleled African leadership in global organisations, the UBA Africa Conversations provides the opportunity for an African and global audience to hear directly from our distinguished guests on Africa’s relationship with the world, the opportunities and the challenges, and their own personal journeys.

Moderated by Tony O. Elumelu, the Group Chairman, UBA and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, discussions …

Africa has experienced marginalisation and social exclusion since gaining independence from its colonisers. Among the policies developed during the colonisation era was the exclusion of Africans from any level of government, or if they were allowed to join, they joined without authority. This kind of racial discrimination is still being experienced in global workspaces to date. Africa has remained stagnant and regressed in terms of foreign trade, investment, per capita income, and other economic growth measures to date due to the effects of colonisation.

Poor governance and corruption, amongst other factors, have continued to repress Africa’s growth; however, more governments are taking the initiative to improve policies that promote education and health outcomes for their people, thereby reducing social exclusion and marginalisation.…

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on Monday, February 15 confirmed as the World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general.

Her appointment came after the last remaining rival candidate, South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, withdrew from the race, allowing her to become the first woman and the first African to lead the global trade body.

She will take up her post on March 1, initially for a term that runs until August 2025.

The Geneva-based body has been without a permanent director-general since Roberto Azevêdo stepped down a year earlier than planned in August.

However, as she takes over, much is expected from her.

Trade spats

Despite WTO being established in 1995 with the aim of promoting open trade for the benefit of all, the organization has struggled to prevent trade spats among member states, most notably the United States and China.

The organization negotiates and administers rules for international trade and tries …

The US-Nigeria relations is expected to grow even stronger after the United States expressed its strong support for the Nigerian candidate in the contest to lead the World Trade Organization.

Former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has attracted broad support from member countries in the race for Director-General, with US being the latest to throw her weight behind her candidature.

The endorsement paves the way for unanimous agreement on the post, which has remained vacant for months.

Former President Donald Trump’s administration had backed South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, preventing a consensus.

However, Yoo on Friday announced her withdrawal from the race.

The US Trade Representative then proceeded to issue a statement saying the administration respects her decision to pull out.

If it is approved, the appointment of Okonjo-Iweala will fill the top post of the global trade watch dog for the first time since last September, after the …