Former foreign minister runs for head of World Trade Organization

Chisinau, 17 June /MOLDPRES/- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Tudor Ulianovschi has been registered as a candidate for director-general of World Trade Organization (WTO). The statement was posted on the official WTO website and confirmed by the former head of Moldovan diplomacy on a social network.

Ulianovschi’s nomination as a candidate for director general of the WTO was made by Moldova in the context of resignation of the current head of the organization, Brazilian Roberto Azevedo from 31 August 2020.

Ulianovschi noted that now under the global crisis caused by COVID-19, more than ever, it is imperative to revive the world trade system and the global economy to narrow the gap between developed countries, under development and least developed countries. "Regardless of the result, it is a new professional experience. I look forward to the Q&A campaign, which will be broadcast live,” he said.

According to WTO internal regulations, several rounds of selection of candidates will be organized in the next period, who will present their own vision of reforming the organization and reviving the world trade system from the eradication of global economic crisis and pandemics to the applicability of multilateral agreements in various sectors of the international economy.

Ulianovschi, as Moldovan Ambassador to Geneva and Permanent Representative to the WTO and the UN, was elected in 2017 chairman of the Balance of Payments Committee, being the first Moldovan diplomat who has held such position at the WTO. In September 2017, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo appointed Ambassador Tudor Ulianovschi as facilitator for the negotiations which were held prior to the WTO Summit, in Buenos Aires.