World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala visited the Philippines from December 3-4, 2024, to engage with government officials and business leaders, with particular mission to promote ocean sustainability.
The highlight of her visit was a courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace on December 4, 2024. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala expressed gratitude for the Philippines’ early acceptance of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, which aims to curb harmful fisheries subsidies and promote ocean sustainability.
Accompanying Dr. Okonjo-Iweala were Mr. Tomochicka Uyama, WTO Senior Adviser, and Ms. Nicole Naa-Adoley Mensa, Special Assistant and Advisor for Women in Trade to the Director General. They were joined by Philippine Representative to the WTO in Geneva, Ambassador Manuel A. J. Teehankee.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala praised the Philippine economy’s impressive performance, stating, “The Philippines is doing reasonably well under the circumstances.”
On December 3, 2024, DTI Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque hosted a dinner in her honor at the Edsa Shangri-La Manila, attended by notable women entrepreneurs.
The following day, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala delivered a lecture at the Asian Development Bank on trade as a driver for sustainable and inclusive growth, and the role of multilateral development banks in this process. This was followed by a luncheon hosted by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. at the Goldenberg Mansion, Malacañang Palace, attended by DTI Secretary and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, Secretary Frederick Go, among other officials.
Aligned with the second pillar of Philippine foreign policy—promoting and attaining economic security—Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s engagement with Philippine officials provided an opportunity to discuss the country’s development priorities and the WTO’s central role in overseeing the multilateral trading system among its more than 160 member countries.
