In a prior post, I had reviewed that the EU had backed all three women candidates in the first round of consultations at the WTO on who should be the next Director-General — H.E. Yoo Myung-hee of Korea; H.E. Amina C. Mohamed of Kenya; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria — but had not backed either of the two men who advanced. See September 24, 2020, WTO Director-General selection – block voting likely to ensure next Director-General is a female, https://currentthoughtsontrade.com/2020/09/24/wto-director-general-selection-block-voting-likely-to-ensure-next-director-general-is-a-female/. All three women moved onto the second round of consultations along with H.E. Mohammad Moziad Al-Tuwaijri of Saudi Arabia and The Rt Hon Dr. Liam Fox MP of the United Kingdom.
With the other two women candidates likely to secure most or all of the second round votes from African WTO Members, it is obviously important for Minister Yoo to continue to receive support from at least some portion of European Members as well as geographical support from Asia and the Pacific and the Americas. With Africa and the Middle East having their own candidates, it is presumably her hope to also secure some support from those areas as well. While it is understood that the EU presented their preferences in the first round of consultations on a consolidated basis, that may not be the case in the second round where at least one EU member (Hungary) has indicated they will vote independent of the EU preferences. Thus, it is not surprising that Minister Yoo and the Korean government are putting focus this week on European Members of the WTO and other missions in Geneva As reviewed in the Korea Times, “‘Minister Yoo is visiting Geneva and Sweden from Sept. 27 until Oct. 2 to seek support of WTO member states with regard to the election of the next WTO director-general,’ the ministry said in a statement, Sept. 25.” The Korea Times, September 27, 2020, Trade minister Yoo Myung-hee kicks off Europe campaign for WTO race, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/09/113_296737.html.
The other piece of news reported today relevant to the WTO Director-General campaign is the endorsement of the Kenyan candidate, H.E. Amina C. Mohamed, by one of the three candidates who did not advance at the end of the first round of consultations, Moldova’s Amb. Tudor Ulianovschi. The Standard, September 27, 2020, Moldovan Candidate Tudor Ulianovschi endorses Amina Mohamed for top WTO job, https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/branding-voice/article/2001387896/tudor-ulianovschi-endorses-amina-mohamed-for-top-wto-job. “He announced on twitter, ‘For the final round of @wto DG selection, two candidates will compete against each other to the benefit of the multilateral trade system. I am pleased to support my friend @AMB_A_Mohammed for the role of DG @wto. We have a similar experience (Ambassador&Minister), diplomacy, and character.'”
The second round of consultations with WTO Members to decide which two of the remaining five candidates will advance to the third round of consultations started on September 24 and will end on October 6. All five candidates and their governments are engaged in shoring up support for their candidacy, with the identification of the two remaining candidates likely to be announced on October 7 or 8.
The third round of consultations, when the candidate viewed as most likely to achieve consensus among the WTO Members, will get started later in October with a hoped for selection of the next Director-General completed by November 7.. Should there be a lack of consensus for the candidate emerging from the third round of consultations, the procedures for selecting Directors-General agreed to at the end of 2002 permits resort to voting if consensus cannot be achieved.