Moroccan candidate to WTO leadership defends plan to modernize the organization

Morocco's candidate to the leadership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Hassan Abouyoub, said he has a global plan to modernize the world body.

Abouyoub, a former minister, told the London-based "Asharq Al-Awsat" daily that if he wins the elections, he will implement a strategy to ensure efficiency in WTO's relations with international organizations and specialized agencies, operating in commercial and economic fields.

He added that his candidacy is welcomed by countries of the south and several industrial countries, that seek to reassure the developing countries that the WTO is not an instrument of domination.

WTO members will elect their future director-general by mid-December at the latest, said WTO sources on Wednesday in Geneva.

The members failed to meet the previous deadline by the end of November to form a consensus on choosing one of the four candidates, namely Morocco's Hassan Abouyoub, Canada's Roy MacLaren, New Zealand's Mike Moore and Thailand's Supachai Panitchpakdi.

Outgoing WTO Director-General Renato Ruggiero of Italy has said that he will not run for the position again when his term expires next April.