Taiwan’s delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Monday that the global trade body has taken its advice to speed up the election process for the new WTO director-general.
The current WTO chief recently announced he will end his tenure a year early. Taiwan’s WTO delegation head Vivian Lien said the nomination period for the position will end on July 8, but so far only four countries have filed their nominations.
Lien pointed out that the WTO chief position will be left vacant in August. With the COVID-19 pandemic having a major impact on world economies, no time should be wasted on the selection process. The WTO took Lien’s advice to shorten the campaign period from three months to one month to conduct the election before October.
Lien’s delegation said they look forward to participating in decisions regarding the WTO’s future and to collaborate with the new WTO head on organizational reforms.