European envoys gave their support to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former finance minister, and Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade chief, at a meeting in Brussels.

The long-expected endorsement was blocked until the last minute by Hungary, which had lent its support to Britain’s former trade minister Liam Fox and Amina Mohamed of Kenya.

The EU’s backing gives the two candidates a big boost, coming a day before an initial pool of eight candidates to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as the WTO director-general last month, is whittled down to two.

The choice of Okonjo-Iweala comes amid calls for an African to finally get a shot at running the organisation, which has counted three director-generals from Europe, and one each from Oceania, Asia and South America since its creation in 1995.

The WTO aims to select a winner in November, but some have expressed concern that political bickering could draw out the process.

The global trade body has faced relentless attacks from Washington, which has crippled the WTO dispute settlement appeal system and threatened to leave the organisation altogether.

-AFP