-- The appointment is widely seen as a positive sign that the multilateral trading system could be restored in a constructive manner and gain further momentum.

-- The urgent need for sweeping reforms, especially those of the WTO's three major functions of dispute settlement, multilateral trade negotiations and trade policy monitoring, is posing a challenge for the new director-general.

-- Another major challenge for her is to ensure the free flow of global trade, maintain the stability of the global trading system and promote the sustainable recovery of the global economy.

GENEVA, Feb. 16  -- Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday agreed by consensus to appoint Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the organization's seventh director-general.

After taking office on March 1, Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman and the first African to serve as the chief of the 26-year-old global trade body, which has been leaderless for almost six months after Roberto Azevedo stepped down on Aug. 31, 2020.