WTO leadership race down to final five

01:26

A shortlist for the World Trade Organization's (WTO) next director-general has been whittled down to just five candidates, three of them women and two from Africa.

The international trade body is looking for a leader to replace Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down at the end of August. It has not had a leader who is female or from Africa since its creation 25 years ago.

The Geneva-based body announced the five to go through to the next round are Kenyan minister Amina Mohamed, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri and former British minister Liam Fox.

In case you missed it:

•

What you need to know about the WTO leadership race

•

China welcomes WTO ruling that U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods violate international rules

•

Could inhaling potential COVID-19 vaccines be more effective?

Five candidates are still in the running to take the helm of the World Trade Organization, from left: South Korean Yoo Myung-hee; Britain's Liam Fox; Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Saudi Mohammed al-Tuwaijri; and Kenya's Amina Mohamed. /Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Those eliminated from the race include Mexico's Jesus Seade, Egypt's Hamid Mamdouh and Moldovan Tudor Ulianovschi.

Amid COVID-19 and major trade wars, the intergovernmental body that has been helping to regulate international trade between nations since 1995 is widely seen to be in need of reform, with a lot riding on the competition's outcome.

Challenges for the next director-general include rising global tensions and protectionism amid the pandemic, particularly between Beijing and President Donald Trump's U.S. administration.

There are also a raft of delayed trade deals that are yet to be finalized as shifts in geopolitics and global trade put pressure on the next leader to reform a rule book on international trade that hasn't been significantly revised in more than two decades.

During round two of the competition, from 24 September to 6 October, the WTO's members are set to give their preferences for the next leader until just two candidates are left.

The body says it wants to select a winner by early November, with each of its 164 member having to agree on the candidate.

Trade experts and former WTO officials say the U.S. presidential election could delay the process, but the body is hopeful it can stick to its deadline.

"The objective is to have this process completed within two months – it began on 7 September, so on or about 7 November, so we are on track for this. The process has gone smoothly," said WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell.

Video editing: Riaz Jugon

Source(s): Reuters ,AFP