Director-General Okonjo-Iweala recently concluded a high-level visit to three Latin American countries: Chile, Uruguay, and Peru. The week-long tour began in Santiago, Chile, where she attended the CEB's biannual session chaired by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The event brought together heads of the UN system and associated organizations.
The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, welcomed the participants who discussed collective approaches to address global challenges. They emphasized governance and the rule of law and explored multilateral solutions for people-centric delivery. The World Trade Organization's (WTO) role in addressing key global commons issues impacting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was acknowledged during these discussions.
In Santiago, DG Okonjo-Iweala held meetings with several government officials including Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto Klaveren, Minister of Agriculture Esteban Valenzuela, and Minister of Energy Diego Pardow. She also engaged with exporters and women leaders in strategic economic sectors.
The Director-General marked the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in Montevideo, Uruguay. This round led to the establishment of the WTO in 1995. During her visit, she met with Vice President Beatriz Argimón and other senior government officials.
In Lima, Peru, DG Okonjo-Iweala had extensive discussions with President Dina Boluarte and other government officials. She also interacted with indigenous and Afro-descendant women entrepreneurs.
The Director-General used this opportunity to acknowledge Latin America's contribution to the WTO and the global economy. She praised their commitment to open markets, transparency, and fair-trade practices.
She urged these countries to continue working on pending issues from the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) recently held in Abu Dhabi. She highlighted areas such as fisheries subsidies negotiations and agriculture negotiations that need attention.
Looking ahead, DG Okonjo-Iweala underscored that the future of trade is services, digital, and green. She encouraged Latin American countries to seize opportunities in sectors like green hydrogen, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and digitally delivered services.
Finally, she called on authorities to embrace re-globalization — a concept focused on revitalizing and reimagining global cooperation, inclusivity, and sustainability. It aims at harnessing the power of trade to address pressing global challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and technological disruption.