WTO chief: It’s a privilege to do this job

The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has told BBC News it is a privilege to do the job.

“I actually jump out of bed every morning wanting to go to work,” Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur.

Responding to claims that many multilateral institutions are hamstrung by mistrust, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said this was not the case with the WTO.

"The organisation just delivered the most amazing success by having agreements such as the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement to make our oceans and our fisheries more sustainable so that poor people can have access…”

“We just got this after two decades of trying to negotiate it… So how can you say we are hamstrung? We are practically the only organisation delivering on multilateralism.”

Speaking of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, that was signed in June 2022, the WTO head said she was very proud of what their members had achieved.