WTO: Various Reasons Push Africa to Choose S. Korean Candidate

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee has advanced to the final round of two candidates in the race to become the next director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Nigeria’s finance minister and its first female foreign minister (FM) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, competes with the south Korean Minister for the same title.

The third and final round of consultations seeking to establish consensus around one candidate is due to begin next week and end on October 27, with the announcement due in early November.

This is the first time for two females to reach the final round of the election, hence, for sure a woman will lead the organization for the first time in the history of the WTO since its inception 25 years ago.

S. Korean candidate faces major challenges

According to observers, the Korean candidate faces several challenges, whether winning the post or following her victory, there is fierce competition from the Nigerian candidate Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 66, who held the position of minister of finance and foreign affairs in Nigeria and has 25 years’ experience as an economist for development at the World Bank (WB).

In addition, the WTO at this time needs a very competent director general who is able to reach a political stature to carry out reforms and deals at very high levels, a matter which titled the scale in favor of the South Korean candidate.

The organization is witnessing an actual conflict due to the stalled trade talks as well as trade disputes between the United States and China, even before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, in addition to the fact that the WTO is currently facing relentless attacks by the United States, which paralyzed the WTO dispute settlement system.

Africa chooses the best

Yoo confirmed that she will transfer the "Korean miracle" to Africa. Unlike other developed or developing countries such as the United States, the European Union or China; Korea is used to integrating and expanding its own investments in Africa through the transfer of skills, technology and infrastructure in partnership with various African governments.

The Korean candidate vowed to transfer the Korean expertise in the field of economic development to the countries of Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Pacific region, to contribute to their economic growth.

In recent decades, Korea’s growth rates are remarkable and represent an inspiration for the potential of Africa at this transformative stage in its history. Both Korea and Africa are pursuing via rational capacity to achieve common interests and maximum gains.

According to experts, African countries can also learn from the Korean "renaissance movement", which has greatly contributed to improving the economic productivity of workers in Korea.

Moreover, Korea is the only country that has jumped from the ranks of underdeveloped countries to an advanced country by revitalizing intra-trade with its trading partners, without relying on imperialism and colonial exploitation to achieve trade exchange, as well as Seoul plans to spread Korean knowledge in developing countries and actively participate in the WTO reform efforts through its candidate Yoo Myung-hee.

Korea is a technically advanced industrialized country, deprived of abundant natural resources, while Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and is in need of skills, technology and infrastructure. Hence, Korean-African cooperation must be expanded to include social and economic issues for development in Africa.

Korea vowed to provide basic support to African countries and continental institutions to create an integrated, prosperous, peaceful and strong continent, with an expected increase in African economic output to $29 trillion by 2050, thus, there is a great opportunity for Korean and African entrepreneurs looking to build or expand businesses in Africa.

Thanks to its successful economic experience, Korea could cooperate with Africans through developing broader technical support and capacity building at the continental level. Moreover, Korea should encourage international organizations' acceptance of major development and economic policies in Africa.

Korea is one of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s pioneers, so special attention can be given to digital transformation and cooperation in digital government, partnerships in clean industries, and cyber security.