Okonjo-Iweala hits the ground running soon after reappointment as DG WTO

Global Patriot Staff December 5, 2024 Local, News, Style & Fashion, World Leave a comment 31 Views

With President of the Philippines, H.E Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the Malacañang Palace

With Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala with President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam
and First Lady Jane Ittogi.

Fresh from her re-appointment as Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has hit the ground running with official trips to Singapore and the Philippines, delivering lectures and meeting with leaders of these and other nations, focusing on how to advance the mandate of the WTO.

In Singapore, she delivered the Keynote at the Next STEP Conference on “The Importance of Middle Powers: How Can They Support & Strengthen the Multilateral Trading System with the WTO at Its Core?”

She held meetings with Minister Don Farrell of Australia and his team, the Australian High Commissioner to Singapore Mr. Allaster Cox, Foreign Affairs Minister of Singapore H.E Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Ambassador Tan Hung Seng, Ambassador of Singapore to the WTO.

Okonjo-Iweala also met, at different times, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore, with the President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam and First Lady Jane Ittogi and with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Gan Kim Yong.

In the Philippines, she started off with dinner with Secretary of Trade and Industry H.E Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque and female entrepreneurs running creative and impactful businesses in the country, including Ms. Martha Sazon: the President & CEO of the number 1 finance app in the Philippines, serving 90 million people and with a recent valuation of $5 billion, Ms. Happy Ongpauco Tiu: Filipino entrepreneur and restauranteur running a series of much loved restaurants and retail homeware businesses, and Zarah Juan: a renowned Filipino designer and the visionary behind a social and cultural enterprise that empowers local artisans.

There were several other high profile meetings, and at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters in Manila, capital of the Philippines, the Nigerian-born Amazon gave a speech on “Trade As An Engine For Sustainable And Inclusive Growth – How Can MDBS Help?” followed by a fireside chat and Q&A session moderated by Vice President Bruce Gosper.

There were discussions with the ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and Vice Presidents Fatima Yasmin, Bruce Gosper, and Scott Morris on ADB-WTO collaboration.

Okonjo-Iweala also had a memorable meeting with the President of the Philippines, H.E Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the beautiful Malacañang Palace and a “Wonderful wonderful surprise” meeting with her dear friend, Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada and her delegation, who were also on an official visit to the Philippines, at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.