The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has made a case for global solidarity in responding to crises facing the world, especially the present war going on between Russia and Ukraine.
The DG in a statement issued by WTO on Monday which was sighted by Africa Today News, New York underlined the important role the global trade body could play in helping to tackle pressing issues such as growing food insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, supply chain disruptions and dwindling fisheries resources.
It asserted that at a Forum at the recently held World Economic Forum, the DG said a theme common to all the major crises facing the world today was the fact that no single country would be able to resolve the challenges on its own.
‘You cannot have resilience unless you have global solidarity,’ she told participants.
‘It’s survival together, it’s supporting each other, it’s financing together, it’s recognising that my resilience cannot happen unless your resilience also happens.’
The DG went on to remind participants that world leaders created a set of institutions after the Second World War based on the idea of solidifying international interdependence and solidarity and using these institutions to help solve problems of the global commons.
‘We have the institutions, we just have not reformed them to be able to deal with these issues, and my institution, the WTO, is one that I think needs to be made fit for purpose,’ she declared.
According to the statement, the Director-General also participated in a discussion on challenges to trade with European Union Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Okonjo-Iweala also underlined the urgent need to address global warming and its impacts during a Forum discussion on climate change.
She said climate change should not be sidelined as the world grapples with other immediate challenges.