Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

DG @WTO

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Happy Bastille Day France! Celebrating with Their Excellencies Ambassador Céline Jurgensen - Ambassador to the UN institutions, and Ambassador Emmanuelle Ivanov-Durand -Ambassador to the WTO. Wishing you the best of luck for the France-Spain match!

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Meeting with accession candidate Curaçao and potential accession Lebanon. Great to receive H. E. Mr. Caryl Monte, Curaçao’s Chief Negotiator who brought the national decree formalizing the basis for accession negotiations and renominating him as Chief Negotiator. Curaçao looks set for hard work following the re-initiation of their process. Many thanks to Working Party Chair, H.E. Amb Matthew Wilson @Matthewbarbados of Barbados for his recent visit to Curaçao. Also exchanging views with H.E. Amb Caroline Ziadeh of Lebanon and the newly named DPR, Mr. Kamel CheikhAli, on Lebanon’s present situation and the government’s push for reforms even in the midst of conflict. Thank you for your interest in engaging with the multilateral trading system.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Celebrating Guyana’s 60th Independence Anniversary with H.E Ambassador Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and DPR H.E Ms Bevon McDonald. Great company and delicious food. Congratulations Guyana.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Congratulations to the Kingdom of Bhutan and to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment H.E. Mr. Namgyal Dorji and his delegation including H.E Amb Tshering Lhadn and the agile and energetic Chief Negotiator H.E. Ms. Tashi Wangmo and her team, on resuming its WTO accession process after an 18-year hiatus. Well done on a good Working Party Meeting, many thanks to our Working Party Chair H.E Ambassador Alexander Kmentt of Austria and our Members who have also worked hard to make this a success. Many thanks to the WTO team and to our partners. The journey is restarting, good accomplishments thus far but a lot more to be done. Look forward to an exciting endpoint.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

A very joyful meeting with the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy of Nigeria, H.E. Ms. Hannatu Musa Musawa @hanneymusawa, and her delegation, including H.E. Amb Innocent Iwejuo, Chargé d'Affaires a.i., Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN and other IOs in Geneva; DG National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. @obiasika; Special Assistant to the President on Creativity, Mr. @BabaAgba_; and the one and only @LadiPoe. So proud of what Nigeria‘s creative industry is doing, including its significant contribution to economic growth, jobs, and incomes - particularly for our young people. We discussed the fact that segments of the creative industry are included in digitally delivered services trade, which, growing at 6% per year, is the fastest-growing segment of global trade. The key issue is how to support and enhance the industry so it can increase its footprint in this aspect of global trade. A lovely surprise to have @LadiPoe do one of his numbers, click on the video to see the performance.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

A good, substantive meeting with the @_AfricanUnion Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Ms. Lerato Mataboge @LDMataboge. Focused on how to prioritize trade-related infrastructure in Africa in order to spur further trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area (@AfCFTA) but also external trade. This includes digital infrastructure in recognition of the advent of AI and the fact that digitally delivered services trade is now the fastest growing segment of trade at 6% per year.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Happy to convene the first meeting of Heads of the 16 public and private organizations who make up the PPC Partenariat pour le Coton (PPC Cotton Partnership). This partnership, coordinated by the @wto and by @UNIDO, seeks to develop the cotton textile garment value chain in Africa, but particularly focused on the Cotton-4+ countries of West Africa. The Steering Committee Meeting got off to a brilliant start with full support for the 2026-2028 work plan and an agreement to launch operational aspects as quickly as possible.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

A useful introductory meeting with the African Organization for Intellectual Property (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, @OAPI_TWIT) led by their DG Mr. Denis Bohoussou. Focused on how Africa can make better global use of its Intellectual Property. We also discussed challenges confronting the pharmaceutical industry with respect to manufacturing of vaccines and the use of the WTO‘s TRIPS Waiver. In addition, also a good discussion on potential benefits for OAPI from the joint @wto-@WHO-@WIPO work on assisting developing countries to evaluate and build appropriate regulatory frameworks for vaccine and other manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, that will help deal with the challenges discussed.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Important meeting with my colleagues, the Heads of the @IEA, Fatih Birol @fbirol, @IMFNews, Kristalina Georgieva @KGeorgieva, and @WorldBankGroup, Ajay Banga, in the context of the high-level coordination group established in April to maximize our institutions’ response to the energy, trade, and economic impact of the war in the Middle East. At our meeting, we took stock of the current situation including in particular the impact on vulnerable countries, and explored how to further coordinate our support to those in need. Please click on the link to read our Joint Statement.
https://t.co/j67FqeQviz

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Great meeting with Prof. Dr. Fritzi Köhler-Geib, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Bundesbank. Focused on global geopolitics and trade, and what it will take to capitalize on Europe’s and Germany‘s innovation ecosystem to spur economic growth.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Happy to receive Nigeria‘s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, H.E. Dr. Jumoke Oduwole @joduwole, and her Senior Special Assistant, Ms. Olayombo Ade-Ojo. Very productive discussion on @AfCFTA implementation in light of Nigeria’s role as Chair of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers this year. Particularly pleased to hear of developments in the areas of digital trade and digitalization. Also spoke about developments in critical minerals supply chains in Nigeria and Africa, as well as active participation in @wto reform.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Launch of the @AIforGood Global Commission today on the sidelines of the AI for Good Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (@ITU). The Commission, of which I am a member, is co-chaired by H.E. President @PaulKagame of Rwanda and Co-Founder and CEO of @salesforce Marc @Benioff with Vice-Chair @ITUSecGen Doreen Bogdan-Martin. The Commission brings together more than 40 Founding Members - including Heads of State and Government, industry CEOs and top executives, and Heads of International Organizations - to help define practical pathways to strengthen trust, expand access and unlock AI‘s potential to solve real-world challenges at the speed the technology demands. The discussion today shows the Commission is off to a promising start! Congratulations to Doreen for this much-needed convening.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Very stimulating presentation and discussion on the @WorldBankGroup‘s work on AI, based on the upcoming World Development Report, led by World Bank Chief Economist, Dr. @IndermitGill and chaired by our own Chief Economist, Prof. Bob Staiger. This was followed by an excellent exchange at lunch animated by several of our Ambassadors. The World Bank‘s findings on the importance of inclusion of developing countries, the role of predictive versus agentic AI in these countries, the importance of ownership and co-creational approaches, and the need to pay attention to requisite infrastructure that will underpin AI at a scale relevant to the resources and means of developing countries, mirror several of our own findings in our work on AI and trade. Many thanks to Indermit and his colleagues for insightful and impactful work.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Received the President of Georgia H.E. Mikheil Kavelashvili @GeoPresident_ and his delegation including Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Alexander Khvtisiashvili and Permanent Representative to the WTO, H.E. Amb Revaz Lomibadze, for a visit to the @wto. Excellent discussions on the global trade environment, and Georgia‘s strong economic performance in the midst of global disruptions and uncertainty. Georgia as a small open, upper middle-income economy is well-positioned to make use of its trade links (the middle corridor), diversified export base, and advances in digital, tech and services, to continue to grow. The President made clear the need for and support of a rules-based multilateral trading system.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

Great evening Barbecue with the Ambassador of Pakistan, H.E. Ali Safraz Hussein @alihussain_ and his lovely wife and daughter. Thanks for hosting the @wto community this summer evening.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

A pleasure to host a lunch for my brother H.E. Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam @m_abdelsallam, SG of the @ZayedAward for Human Fraternity, to speak about the great humanitarian work of the Zayed Award. An occasion to also welcome the new SG of @IPUparliament, H.E. Anda Filip, the first woman to take this role in the 13 decades of the history of IPU. Also happy to have my brother, H.E. @DrTedros Ghebreyesus, DG @WHO, and dear friends, Their Excellencies, Amb Carmen Heidecke of Germany and Amb @PetterOlberg of Norway.

[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala]

A very instructive meeting today with H.E. Mr. @ErkkiKeldo, Minister of Economy and Industry of Estonia, and his team including Deputy Permanent Representative, Mrs. Janne Kendla. Focused on the digital economy where Estonia‘s remarkable experience and knowledge is widely recognized. Also happy to meet with a group of Asian Scholars focused on WTO reform. Very insightful questions and a good exchange.