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Raila endorses CS Amina's bid for top World Trade Organisation post

Sports CS Amina Mohamed.

ODM leader Raila Odinga has endorsed Sports CS Amina Mohamed bid for the position of Director General at the World Trade Organisation.

Raila on Thursday heaped praise on the CS as he wished her the best of luck ahead of the Geneva vote.

The CS is set to present her case on Thursday in Geneva ahead of the crucial vote.

"Amina is a skilled diplomat and Pan-Africanist with compassion and proven commitment to multi-lateralism and development. I have no doubt whatsoever that she will do a fine job at the WTO," Raila tweeted.

The Geneva-based body is seeking a replacement for Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo who is stepping down a year early at the end of August at a critical juncture for the trade watchdog.

His successor will need to steer reforms and negotiations in the face of rising protectionism, a deep recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and growing trade tensions, notably between the United States and China.

Amina, a former Kenyan ambassador to the WTO and the first woman to chair the WTO’s General Council in 2005, is the sixth candidate to be officially nominated, alongside others from Egypt, Nigeria, South Korea, Mexico and Moldova.

There is broad support for an African candidate and a woman, since neither have headed the Geneva-based body in the past, sources following the process said. 

Last week, the CS also received the nod from President Uhuru Kenyatta who termed Amina as a "uniquely qualified person" to lead the WTO at this critical time.

"The length and breadth of her experience with the WTO and the multilateral trading system combined with her extensive track record in international relations and her political experience, I believe is unparalleled," The President said.

Uhuru said Amina has devoted a significant part of her professional career championing the benefits of trade.

If selected, Amina would be the first African and the first woman to serve at the helm of the World Trade Organisation.

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