GENEVA: The race to lead the World Trade Organisation, pitting Mexico against Brazil, should be wrapped up by May 7, the senior diplomat leading the process said yesterday.
Pakistan’s Ambassador Shahid Bashir, who runs the WTO’s governing General Council, told a meeting of its 159 member states that he would launch a final round of talks next week.
“These consultations will begin on Wednesday afternoon, 1 May, and continue through midday, Tuesday 7 May,” Bashir said in an address to fellow ambassadors.
Mexico’s candidate is Herminio Blanco, a former senior trade negotiator, and Brazil’s is the country’s WTO ambassador Roberto Azevedo.
Officials said that a session of the general council was then likely to be held on May 8, allowing the name of the winner to be announced sooner than expected originally. Bashir had previously said that he expected to have the name of the successor to the WTO’s current leader, Frenchman Pascal Lamy, by May 31.
The post of leader of the WTO, tasked with reviving stalled global trade talks, is not formally elected. Unlike similar organisations such as the various arms of the United Nations, whose chiefs are nominated, the WTO picks its leader based on a consensus system.
Bashir, with the support of other senior diplomats, has spent recent weeks sounding out members to assess which candidates were likely to muster the most support.
AFP
