This week, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sat down with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at the network’s first Global Perspectives event in London to discuss the big picture on global trade before zeroing in on Africa.
The Nigerian economist and World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general called the ripple effect of Trump administration tariffs “the greatest disruption in trade in 80 years.”
She also said that she agreed with some of the criticisms leveled at the organization by the US.
“The crisis is an opportunity to reform (the WTO),” she said, calling from greater transparency and conceding that decision-making “sometimes … does result in paralysis.”
“In this modern world with AI, we need to find a way to be flexible, faster,” she added.
Okonjo-Iweala noted that the US isn’t the only nation critiquing the WTO, and developing nations also have legitimate gripes. “I think they are coming to the fore because of the crisis we’re in,” she said.
Beyond the bureaucracy, the director-general was bullish about the continent’s prospects, pointing to an IMF projection of 4% growth in Africa in 2025 and 2026.
“Most of Africa’s mineral resources are yet to be discovered,” she said, while pointing to the continent containing “67% of the world’s arable land,” and 22% of the world’s working population.
“But how do we make this work for us?” she added.
Okonjo-Iweala called for “careful thinking” on tensions in Nigeria, after US President Donald Trump suggested the United States may take military action there to protect the nation’s Christians.
Okonjo-Iweala, who previously served as Nigeria’s finance minister, said “This is an incredibly complex question. The situation is very difficult and needs careful thought.
“It has religious issues involved in it, it has resource issues involved in it, it has different complexities. So, I just think we need careful thinking through.”
