European Union governments will support Ni­geria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee to lead the World Trade Organisation as the race enters its final month, re­ports Bloomberg.

EU member-country en­voys agreed on Monday in Brussels to endorse Okon­jo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former finance minister, and Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade chief, in their bids to become WTO direc­tor-general, according to an official familiar with the matter.

Hungary swung behind the planned recommenda­tion after being the only EU country to withhold support at a lower-level meeting last Friday of officials representing the 27-nation bloc, the person said on the condition of an­onymity because the delib­erations were confidential.

Five candidates are still in the running to the lead the WTO. It plans to an­nounce two finalists after today and name a winner by November 7.

Brazilian Roberto Aze­vedo stepped down from the job at the end of Au­gust — a year before his term ended. The Gene­va-based trade body faces headwinds from the coro­navirus pandemic, the U.S.-China trade battle, a hobbled arbitration system and a lack of tools to tackle growing challenges such as industrial subsidies.

Finding by CEOAFRICA showed that hat the former World Bank managing director is  seen as the best candidate to lead the  WTO.

Okonjo-Iweala, currently chairs the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) backed by the Bill Gates Foundation.