DG Okonjo-Iweala receives honour from government of Brazil
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was honoured by the government of Brazil on 10 March, receiving the Order of Rio Branco, which recognizes Brazilian and foreign citizens whose accomplishments have contributed to a better future.
In presenting the award to the Director-General at the WTO, Braz da Costa Baracuhy Neto, Chargé d’affaires with the Mission of Brazil to the WTO, said the DG’s career “epitomizes the brilliance, the devotion, the passion and the compassion, the fearlessness, the leadership that the world requires today.”
Noting the successful 12th Ministerial Conference last June, Mr. Baracuhy Neto said it was the DG’s “passionate stewardship for effective outcomes that is enabling us to change into a new WTO: a WTO in which international trade is part of the solution to global problems like food security and climate change.”
The Director-General said it was “a real honour and pleasure to be awarded this very distinguished recognition from Brazil today” and thanked Brazil for its strong support for the multilateral trading system and for the WTO.
The award was special, she said, because “it’s not just about the work that I have done, but a recognition for the WTO team that has worked so hard to make all the things you said happen … So the fact that the government of Brazil has seen fit to honour us for this is an honour for everyone.”
Previous recipients of the Order of Rio Branco have included South African President Nelson Mandela and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
