President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria and Africa are happy with this new position took by the Biden administration to support the emergence of Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
He said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The Biden-Harris administration expressed its support for Nigeria’s former minister of finance following the withdrawal of Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee as candidate for the same position.
Buhari said he welcomed the pronouncement of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, signifying withdrawal of the country’s earlier objection under Donald Trump’s administration to the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as DG of the WTO.
He said “Nigeria and the entire African continent are happy about this new position, which signifies a shift and important turnaround in the relation between our continent and the United States under the Biden administration.
“Today, we see that the United States stands with Nigeria and Africa with the acceptance of our widely respected citizen, Okonjo-Iweala, to lead the WTO.
“We look forward to working very closely with the new US administration on this and all issues of common interests, especially in such areas as accelerated economic growth, fight against terrorism and deepening progress on development issues.’’
