Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala prepared for task of reviving WTO

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization's (WTO) first female and first African director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala started work on Monday, ending a six-month leadership void as she aims to revive the global trade watchdog ahead of a major year-end meeting.

After a long campaign that was derailed in the latter stages by a Trump administration veto, the 66-year-old Nigerian was confirmed as boss last month, pledging to "forget business as usual" at the body which is struggling to strike new deals and whose arbitration functions are paralysed.

"It feels great. I am coming into one of the most important institutions in the world and we have a lot of work to do. I feel ready to go," Okonjo-Iweala told a reporter on arrival at the WTO's lakeside Geneva headquarters where she donned a mask and elbow-bumped officials.

The first day with the former finance and foreign minister at the helm of the WTO coincides with a closed meeting of its top decision-making body, the General Council.

Delegates from its 164 member states joined virtually and agreed to hold the next major ministerial conference in Geneva, Switzerland beginning on Nov. 29. The WTO later confirmed the date.