UK Statement to the WTO General Council on the Director General Selection Process
The UK's Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Julian Braithwaite, delivered this statement at a meeting of the WTO General Council on 22 July 2020.
I would like to reiterate the United Kingdom’s thanks to the Director General, for his service to the World Trade Organization and its Members, and in support of rules-based free and fair trade.
The United Kingdom also places on record its strong support of Ambassador Walker’s efforts to run consultations in line with expedited deadlines, as necessary for this selection process. Many thanks for outlining the precedent on the process so clearly. We stand ready to work within those timelines.
We wish to thank Ambassador Walker for his excellent organisation of last week’s Hustings process, to provide candidates the opportunity to present their credentials to the Membership.
The United Kingdom was delighted to nominate Dr Liam Fox for the position of the next Director General of the WTO. Dr Fox has proven himself a passionate advocate of multilateralism, and fully committed to the WTO’s rules-based trading system. With decades of experience in global politics, as both a Cabinet Minister and Secretary of State for International Trade, he is equipped to both lead and modernise this Organisation. Dr Fox is a strong proponent of trade as the key to global prosperity and security and is well placed to ensure that the benefits of free trade truly work for all countries and citizens.