• Roberto Azevêdo, a career Brazilian diplomat, announced his resignation on May 14 as the WTO Director-General effective August 31
• Amina is seeking united support from African governments for the post, which she failed to win when she stood for the African Union Commission chairmanship in 2017.
Kenya’s Sports and Culture Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has emerged as a top contender for the World Trade Organization position after the sudden resignation of Roberto Azevêdo a year earlier.
Azevêdo, a career Brazilian diplomat, announced his resignation on May 14 as the WTO Director-General effective August 31, the Geneva-based organisation said. His second four-year term was due to expire in September 2021.
His unexpected departure has caused a flurry of interest in his replacement against a background of deep concern about the institution.
According to the New York Times Azevêdo has been a proponent of multilateralism through international cooperation, putting him at odds with US President Donald Trump.
The US, which has largely bypassed the WTO and fought a direct trade war with China, has consequently sought to cripple its dispute settlement function by refusing to appoint new judges to the appellate body, and criticised its inability to rein in Beijing’s trade-distorting economic model.
But despite these attacks and threats to its existence, candidates interested in the post have emphasised judicious reform rather than radical change.
Peter Mandelson, the British former European Union Trade commissioner, is also said to be in the race.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Amina called for reforms in WTO, saying the organisation’s rule book needs to change.
She proposed streamlining WTO’s judicial processes and improving transparency about governments’ trade-distorting actions.
“It is important to be inclusive and show that the membership knows that every part of the globe can make a positive contribution to the running of the WTO,”Amina told FT.
She added that the incoming Director-General needed to be someone experienced in working within the organisation.
“We need someone with the right experience, someone who is committed to the multilateral system … but also has the political stature to be an effective facilitator and a consensus-builder,” she said.
“If that person happens to be African, or happens to be a woman, I think it will be so much better,” she lobbied for herself.
As a Permanent Representative, Amina has represented Kenya in various organisations in the UN system, and participated in drafting and interpretation of International Trade Treaties.
SEEKING AFRICAN SUPPORT SECOND TIME
Amina, who also worked as Foreign
Affairs and International Trade minister, is seeking united support from African governments for the post, which she failed to win when she stood for the African Union Commission chairmanship in 2017.
She lost to Moussa Faki, a former Chadian prime minister and Foreign Affairs minister at the time of his election.
A Daily Nation report in December 2019 said Kenya spent Sh437.7 million in its failed bid to capture the AUC seat.
Highlighted as confidential expenditure, data submitted to Parliament showed Sh437,776, 982 was spent in the campaigns, exceeding the set confidential expenditure by Sh52,095,299.
Foreign Affairs PS Ambassador Macharia Kamau said the Sh52 million had been used by Deputy President William Ruto, who earlier led the shuttle diplomacy to lobby for the seat.
“This difference relates to the AUC campaigns conducted by the Deputy President and were initially charged under the AUC campaign funds, but were later transferred to State Visits expenditure,” Kamau told Parliament.
Kenya campaigned across Africa with President Uhuru Kenyatta sending special envoys to all the 53 countries.
But even as Amina pegs her bid on multilateralism, her position on the ICC is cited as one of the reasons she lost the AU race.
As Foreign Affairs Minister in the first term of the Jubilee government, she was a fierce critic of the International Criminal Court and this did not sit well with the countries who are in favour of the Hague-based court.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, her bosses, were then facing crimes against humanity charges at The Hague.
If she succeeds, Amina will be the WTO’s first female leader and would be another plus for Kenya’s representation in international organisations.
Already, former Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi is United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Director General until August 2021.
