Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala says "ready to go" on day 1 as WTO boss

* End of six-month leadership gap at WTO
* Okonjo-Iweala plans to prioritise health
* WTO expected to decide on next ministerial meeting

By Emma Farge
GENEVA, March 1 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization's
first female and first African director-general Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala began work on Monday, ending a six-month
leadership void at the global trade watchdog.
After a long campaign that was derailed in the late stages
by a Trump administration veto, the 66-year-old Nigerian was
finally confirmed as boss last month, pledging to "forget
business as usual" at the body which is struggling to strike new
deals and whose arbitration functions are paralysed. L1N2KL1GE
"It feels great. I am coming into one of the most important
institutions in the world and we have a lot of work to do. I
feel ready to go,” Okonjo-Iweala told a reporter on arrival at
the WTO's lakeside Geneva headquarters.
The first day of the former finance and foreign minister at
the helm of the WTO coincides with a meeting of its top
decision-making body, the General Council. Its 164 member states
will discuss topics such as trade rules on COVID-19 vaccine
distribution which Okonjo-Iweala has identified as a priority.
On the agenda is also the date and venue for its major
ministerial conference which was due to be held in Kazakhstan
last year but was delayed due to the pandemic.
Okonjo-Iweala has said she hopes that event will provide a
venue for clinching various deals including on cutting fisheries
subsidies and reform of the WTO's top appeals body which was
paralysed by former U.S. President Donald Trump's
administration.
Her predecessor Brazilian Roberto Azevedo stepped down on
Aug. 31, a year early.
Since the director-general role holds few executive powers,
some analysts question Okonjo-Iweala's ability to revive the
body in the face of so many challenges including persistent
U.S.-China trade tensions and growing protectionism heightened
by the pandemic.