Your Title

GENEVA: World Trade Organisation chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed for a second term at a special meeting on Friday, the trade watchdog said in a statement, meaning her second term will coincide with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's.

Trade sources expect the road ahead for the 30-year-old organisation to be challenging and most likely characterised by trade wars, with Trump threatening hefty tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China.

Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who made history in 2021 by becoming the body's first female and first African director-general, has broad backing among WTO members.

ALSO READ: Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala is first woman, African to head WTO

She announced in September that she would run again, aiming to complete “unfinished business”.

No other candidates ran against her.

Trade sources said the meeting created a means of fast-tracking her appointment process to avoid any risk of it being blocked by Trump, whose teams and allies have criticised both Okonjo-Iweala and the WTO in the past.

In 2020, his administration gave its support to a rival candidate and sought to block her first term. She secured U.S. backing only when President Joe Biden succeeded Trump in the White House.