The Greene County Democrat

Tag: World Trade Organization delegates

  • Newswire : Only three African women on Forbes List of ‘100 Most Powerful Women’

    Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania


     
    Dec. 25, 2022 (GIN) – Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan, Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is the current Director General of the World Trade Organization and Nigerian media mogul Mosunmola Abudu are the only African women featuring in the list of the World’s Most Powerful 100 Women by Forbes.
     
    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the top-ranked African woman at position 91. The Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021, she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization as Director-General.
     
    In 95th place on the list is Samia Suluhu Hassan, president of Tanzania since March 2021. She became president following the death of President John Pombe Magufuli and is the first female president of Tanzania.
     
    Mosunmola Abudu at age 58 is the youngest of the African women on the Forbes list. A media mogul, philanthropist and a former human resources management consultant, she is highly ranked among the 25 most powerful women in global television.
     
    Despite the minimal representation in platforms such as Forbes, the continent has demonstrated a commitment to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Almost all countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; more than half have ratified the African Union’s Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Other milestones include the African Union’s declaration of 2010–2020 as the African Women’s Decade.
     
    Although Africa includes both low- and middle-income countries, poverty rates are still high. The majority of women work in insecure, poorly paid jobs, with few opportunities for advancement. Democratic elections are increasing, and a record number of women have successfully run for seats. But electoral-related violence is a growing concern.
     
    In contrast, the United States has 50 women on the same Forbes list, including Vice President Kamala Harris, philanthropist Melinda Gates, media star Oprah Winfrey and  former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
     
    “The list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence. For political leaders, “ noted Forbes. “We weighed gross domestic products and populations; for corporate leaders, revenues and employee counts; and media mentions and reach of all. The result is a collection of women who are fighting the status quo.”
     
    Iranian woman Jina “Mahsa” Amini also made it to the list at position 100, albeit posthumously. Her death in September sparked the unprecedented women-led revolution in Iran. W/pix of Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan
     
     

  • Newswire: U. S. upsets election of African candidate for top world trade post


     

    Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala


    Nov. 2, 2020 (GIN) – Backed by an overwhelming number of World Trade Organization delegates, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on a fast track to become the head of the global trade group.
     
    Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was set to become the first woman and first African to lead the global trade watchdog.  A selection panel of WTO trade ministers found she had far more support than a South Korean rival and it was expected that the Asian candidate would be withdrawn because the African candidate would be most likely to attract consensus among the members.
     
    But the historic appointment hit a stumbling block with last-minute opposition from the Trump administration and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer who threw their support to Yoo Myung-hee, the current Minister for Trade of South Korea, calling her a “bona-fide trade expert”, and suggesting that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was unqualified for the job.
     
    “The WTO is badly in need of major reform. It must be led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field,” the U.S. office said.
     
    Molly Toomey, a spokeswoman for Okonjo-Iweala, rejected the comments, saying “WTO members wouldn’t have selected a Director General who is missing any skills or qualifications.”
     
    A Nigerian-born economist and international development expert, Okonjo-Iweala sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and has held several key positions at the World Bank. She says the WTO should play a role in helping poorer countries access COVID-19 drugs and vaccines.
     
    President Trump has shown animus to numerous world bodies and agreements, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the nonbinding Global Compact on Migration, the U.N. Human Rights Council, UNESCO, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, NAFTA, and the Iran nuclear deal, among others.
     
    Trump has described the WTO as “horrible”, biased towards China and threatened to withdraw. Last month, the trade body found the U.S. had breached global trading rules by imposing multi-billion dollar tariffs in Trump’s trade war with China.
     
    “We’ll have to do something about the WTO because they let China get away with murder,” Trump grumbled after the ruling.
     
    The U.S. has paralyzed the WTO’s appellate body by blocking appointments to the seven-person panel for more than two years. A global court for trade, it has been unable to issue judgments on new cases since December 2019 because there aren’t enough active members.
     
    Yoo presents herself as a “bridge” candidate, aiming to overcome the divide between the United States and China, however she is reported to be having problems solidifying support from some major Asian members – including China and Japan. The deadline for the appointment is Nov. 7. w/pix of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala