Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala took over as the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General on Monday. 

This post has remained vacant since August 31, 2020, when the former head of the organization, Roberto Azevêdo, left it before the expiration of his term, TASS reported.

Upon arriving at WTO headquarters on Monday morning, Okonjo-Iweala told the press pool of the UN-accredited correspondent association that she considered a successful conclusion of negotiations on fisheries subsidies as quickly as possible as one of the highest priorities.

We believe that overfishing, as well as illegal fishing, cause significant damage, she said, recalling that negotiations on this topic in the WTO have been underway for 20 years, and that's enough.

As Okonjo-Iweala noted, she very much hopes that the talks will be completed this year, given that the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference is scheduled for June in Kazakhstan. At the same time, the general director did not hide the fact that there are still many critical issues requiring approval. In this regard, she spoke in favor of joint work in order to achieve results with public organizations that are strong partners.