Developing country should stay at the helm of the WTO: candidate

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2005

GENEVA, (AFP) — As the race to lead the World Trade Organisation nears its climax, Uruguay's candidate said in an interview with AFP that a developing country must remain at the helm of the body that sets the rules for global commerce.

With the World Bank traditionally run by an American and the International Monetary Fund by a European, it is only fair that developing countries have the chance at the WTO, said Carlos Perez del Castillo.

"It would be much better for the workings of the system if one (organisation) could be headed by a developing country," he said.

The WTO, founded in 1995, and its precursor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, set up in 1947, were previously headed by Europeans.

Perez del Castillo, 60, was Uruguay's ambassador...