ICC welcomes reappointment of WTO head

  • 29 November 2024

ICC has responded to the reappointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On behalf of ICC’s global network of over 45 million comapnies in more than 170 countries, ICC Secretary General John W.H Denton said:

“We warmly welcome the appointment today of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to serve a second term as Director General of the World Trade Organization.

“Dr Ngozi has shown immense leadership in championing multilateral cooperation through a particularly challenging period for world trade — not least the fall out from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Retaining broad based support for the WTO will clearly be vital in the years ahead. We look forward to working with the Director General to this end — simply put, no economy will benefit from an erosion of the multilateral trade system.

“We also see an opportunity to advance pragmatic solutions through the WTO to address common trade frictions — including through coalitions of the willing where necessary.

“Action to bring greater transparency to industrial policies, enable cross-border data flows and unlock synergies between trade and sustainability objectives will be particular priorities for the global business community.”