Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday, said Africa has a lot to benefit from her position because she understands first-hand the challenges being faced by the continent in the areas of trade.
Okonjo-Iweala who spoke at the 10th anniversary of the Financial Times Africa Summit held in London, United Kingdom said even though she is DG for all the members of the WTO, being a Nigerian from the continent of Africa and a policy maker, she is willing to give an attentive ear to the problems experienced by Africans as well as eager to provide the needed solutions.
She said “I think for Africa what it means is that there is someone who is of the continent, who knows the problems and has been a policy maker on the continent and therefore, can help find some of the solutions that may be needed. Somebody with an attentive ear”.
“Yes, I am DG WTO for all the members worldwide but I am from the continent and I know its problem first-hand, not second-hand. So, they have a very attentive ear and someone who is eager to help solve as many of the trade-related problems on the continent as much as possible”.
Answering questions on efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, Okonjo-Iweala said African countries have historically generated roughly three percent of global emissions, making it particularly important to avoid penalising countries on the continent during Europe’s push toward a lower-carbon future.
She also said African countries must be supported with needed funds to be a part of the solution to the problem of climate change.
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“Africa produces three to 4 percent of the fuel emissions in the world and it has few resources with which to make a transition to renewable and to low carbon emissions development. So, African countries should be asking for the financing that was promised them, the 100 billion a year for helping Transmission has not been as forthcoming as it should be. We need a just transition”.
“You cannot expect this continent and other low-income countries to transition at the same pace. If they don’t have the financing to put in the kind of green low carbon infrastructure which is really possible to do but it needs money to be able to do it”.
“At the same time, African countries have put in their nationally determined contributions and even though they didn’t cause much of the problems, they also need to be part of the solution. So, they need the finance to deliver the commitment that they have made. But I do believe they should contribute”.
Speaking on when the bottlenecks being experienced in the supply chain will end, Okonjo-Iweala said “It is very difficult to say but it looks like it is going to go on for several months. We are going into the holiday season in many countries again with very high demands and the container mismatch is not yet being solved”.
“So, we expect at the WTO that this will continue for several months, but it is transitory. Sometime later next year we will see it much better but I’m afraid we are in for several months of difficulties”.
