Here’s Why Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri is a Frontrunner to Become WTO Director-General

Business

July 21st, 7:02pm

Asharq Alawsat

Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Saudi Arabia's candidate for director general of the WTO, attends a General Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 17. (WTO)

Saudi Arabia has nominated Mohammad al-Tuwaijri to become director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and he is considered a frontrunner for the job. Al-Tuwaijri will be up against candidates from several countries, including Britain's former International Trade Secretary and Brexit proponent Liam Fox. Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Mexico, Moldova, and South Korea have also nominated candidates for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) top job. Key facts - Al-Tuwaijri’s experience is unique. He started his career as a fighter pilot for the Saudi Air Force. He then joined the corporate world as a senior banking executive, where he was CEO of HSBC Middle East. Prior to that he had also worked for in J.P Morgan Saudi Arabia and Saudi British Bank. - Currently Al-Tuwaijri is an advisor to the Saudi Royal Court in a Minister rank. Until earlier this year he was Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning, where among his other responsibilities was supervising the progress of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. He has served as a member of the board of the Saudi Center for International Strategic Partnerships, a member of the Supreme Committee for Hydrocarbons Affairs, a member of the National Committee for Digital Transformation since 2018, a member of the High Committee for Atomic Energy and Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for the Kingdom’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai. - He is one of Saudi Arabia’s key policy makers and serves as a director of several key committees, including the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, the Royal Authority for the City of Riyadh Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, the National Center for Privatization & PPP, and the National Information Center. He heads the Saudi side of Saudi Arabia’s Committees with Spain, Portugal, Brunei, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Austria. - He also chairs several key government departments in Saudi Arabia, among which are the National Center for Strategic Development, the Standing Committee of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development and the Investment Committee of the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Among his other key roles are board member for Saudi Aramco and member of the Strategic Committee of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. Forbes Middle East

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2403351/here%E2%80%99s-why-saudi-arabia%E2%80%99s-mohammad-al-tuwaijri-frontrunner-become-wto-director