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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

28 commentaries

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, is a former finance minister and foreign affairs minister of Nigeria and board chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Global Public Leader at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water.

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  1. WTO Reform Is Everyone’s Responsibility
    okonjoiweala27_GIUSEPPE CACACEAFP via Getty Images_WTO13ministerialconference Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images

    WTO Reform Is Everyone’s Responsibility

    Mar 28, 2024 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala writes that meaningful change will come only when members other than the US help steer the organization.

  2. The Trade-Finance Gap Is Holding Back Developing Economies
    okonjoiweala26 trade iStock / Getty Images Plus

    The Trade-Finance Gap Is Holding Back Developing Economies

    Dec 13, 2023 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala & Makhtar Diop consider how to get more working capital into the hands of exporters and importers in lower-income countries.

  3. Confronting the Global Water Crisis
    mazzucato52_Mario TamaGetty Images_water agriculture drought Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Confronting the Global Water Crisis

    Mar 17, 2023 Mariana Mazzucato, et al. offer a seven-point blueprint for preserving one of the planet’s most important natural systems.

  4. Fixing the Food Trade
    okonjoiweala24_Sjoerd van der WalGetty Images_agriculture trade Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images

    Fixing the Food Trade

    Oct 21, 2022 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala touts a more holistic approach that aligns policies with a stronger base of evidence about what works.

  5. The Trade Agenda Today
    op_okonjoiweala2_ FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_ngoziokonjoiweala Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

    The Trade Agenda Today

    Sep 30, 2022 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala interviewed by Anne O. Krueger about the challenges facing her organization.

  1. strain27_Philipp von Ditfurthpicture alliance via Getty Images_AIeducation Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What the AI Pessimists Are Missing

    Michael R. Strain points out that the technology will help to address many of the risks it creates.
  2. ito37_Spencer PlattGetty Images_columbiaprotests Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Innocent Bystanders of College Protests

    Takatoshi Ito laments that a radical minority can disrupt the lives of so many in the broader university community.
  3. lacamera1_Wang DongzhenXinhua via Getty Images_COP28 Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Only Public-Private Cooperation Can Accelerate Decarbonization

    Francesco La Camera & Bruce Douglas explain how to translate political commitments into actual wind turbines and solar panels.
  4. haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    Defining Success in Ukraine

    Richard Haass

    Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, has expressed the view that 2025 could be the time for Ukraine to once again mount a counter-offensive against Russian troops. Given the strategic math, that would be a serious mistake.

    calls for a shift to a defensive posture and efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire.
  5. aslund75_Pierre CromGetty Images_ukraineconflict Pierre Crom/Getty Images

    A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine

    Anders Åslund proposes a maximalist approach to military aid to replace the current piecemeal injections of old weapons.
  6. khrushcheva180_ContributorGetty Images_shoiguputin Contributor/Getty Images

    Russia’s Battle of the Ministries

    Nina L. Khrushcheva sees a high-ranking official's recent arrest as a sign of declining confidence in Vladimir Putin's leadership.
  7. ghosh77_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_ajaybanga Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The “Billions to Trillions” Charade

    Jayati Ghosh

    Multilateral development banks and international financial institutions argue that mobilizing private investment is crucial to meeting developing economies’ needs for climate and development finance. But boosting government revenues is far more likely to generate the trillions of dollars needed to close these financing gaps.

    explains why using development banks' resources to incentivize private-sector finance is unlikely to succeed.
  8. aljasser1_SEYLLOUAFP via Getty Images_dakarairport Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images

    Leveraging Islamic Finance for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure

    Muhammad Al Jasser shows how a hybrid financing model could help fund desperately needed projects in the developing world.
  9. GettyImages-1357300450

    Adekeye Adebajo on the Non-Aligned Movement, United Nations peacekeeping, African institution-building, and more

    Adekeye Adebajo argues that Israel’s war in Gaza is accelerating the trend toward global apartheid, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of United Nations peacekeeping missions, criticizes the militarization of US engagement with Africa, and more.

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