The South Korean Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, has withdrawn from the race to head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
She dropped her bid on February 5, 2021.
With this development, the coast is now clear for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to claim the global body’s Director General position as the first woman and first African.
Dr Yoo’s resignation came after consultation with the United States, her prime backer and other major countries and “decided to renounce her candidacy”, according to a statement issued by South Korea’s Trade Ministry.
Ex-American President, Donald Trump, had refused to support Okonjo-Iweala as replacement Dr Roberto Azevedo, leading to a deadlock since October, when key WTO ambassadors approved her for the job.
“South Korea will continue to make various contributions to rebuild and enhance the multilateral trade system”, the trade ministry statement said.
The WTO is widely seen as being in need of reform. Even before the Covid-19 crisis hit, it had grappled with stalled trade talks and struggled to curb tensions between the US and China.
The global trade body has also faced relentless attacks from Washington, which has crippled the WTO dispute settlement appeal system and threatened to leave the organisation altogether.