I was surprised Trump opposed me to lead WTO – Okonjo-Iweala

The director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has revealed that she was surprised when the US administration led by Donald Trump opposed her selection as WTO DG.

Okonjo-Iweala made this disclosed while speaking during her first press briefing as the next WTO DG on Monday.

According to her, after being interviewed twice by the United States government under the leadership of former President Donal Trump, she did not see any reason for US to oppose her bid to lead WTO.

She said: “I think I was quite surprised when that came (opposition from Trump) because there was no indication that there was any problem with the US.

“I had two good interviews with the authorities and with the administration so it was a surprise. But that’s the way life works. When things happen, you take them in your stride and you move on.

“It was absolutely wonderful when the Biden/Harris administration broke that logjam. They joined the consensus and gave such a strong endorsement to my candidacy. They joined the other 163 members to endorse my candidacy.”