SUNS  4343 Friday 11 December 1998



WTO HEAD-HUNT CONTINUES

Geneva, 10 Dec (TWN) -- The World Trade Organization's General Council was advised Thursday by Amb. Celso Lafer of Brazil and Amb. William Rossier of Switzerland that their consultations for selecting a person to succeed as the next Director-General had not so far produced a consensus.

Lafer and Rossier have been named to conduct the consultations to select a candidate commanding consensus from the four who have been nominated.

While they did not specifically identify what was holding up the consensus, the remarks of several delegations at the General Council showed that the US and the EC have not so far indicated their choice.

Egypt again pressed that the Council should take a vote to resolve the issue. Pakistan which took the same position said that the Council, which had set a December deadline to choose a candidate to succeed Mr. Ruggiero, but would now be unable to do so, should decide that if by the first meeting of the General Council in 1999, no consensus had been reached, a candidate should be chosen by vote.

Most other speakers stressed the desirability of a choice by consensus, but blamed the major trading partners for holding up the choice.