DG CANDIDATES TO MAKE PRESENTATIONS 26 JANUARY
The four candidates to succeed Supachai Panitchpakdi as Director-General of the World Trade Organization will address an extraordinary meeting of the WTO General Council on 26 January.
Nominations for the position closed on 31 December 2004. The candidates to replace Supachai when his term ends on 31 August 2005 are: former EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, former Uruguayan WTO Ambassador Carlos Perez del Castillo, Brazilian WTO Ambassador Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa, and Mauritian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Jayakrishna Cuttaree.
According to procedures agreed by Members on 13 January, each candidate will face the General Council for 75 minutes — a 15-minute introductory speech followed by an hour of questions from Member delegations. Each candidate will hold a 30-minute press conference immediately after his session with the General Council.
Members are aiming to finish the selection process by May so as to not interfere with preparatory work for December’s WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong.
ICTSD reporting. "WTO Members to Interview Candidates To Replace Supachai as Director-General," INTERNATIONAL TRADE DAILY, 18 January 2005.