HERMINIO BLANCO’s WTO CANDIDACY ADVANCES TO THE NEXT STAGE

• Dr. Blanco has campaigned for 94 days, meeting with representatives from about 100 countries.

• The Mexican government reiterates its full support for Dr. Blanco’s candidacy and will continue to strongly promote his candidacy to the WTO.

Dr. Herminio Blanco advanced today to the second phase of the selection process for the new WTO Director General.

In Geneva, Switzerland, the selection committee headed by the chairman of the WTO General Council presented the results of the first stage of consultations among the WTO’s 159 member countries.

The representatives of Mexico, Herminio Blanco; Indonesia, Mari Elka Pangestu; New Zealand, Tim Groser; South Korea, Taeho Bark; and Brazil, Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo, moved on to the second stage of the selection process for the WTO Director General.

The WTO General Council Chairman thanked the four candidates who will not be continuing into the second round for participating. They are: Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen (Ghana); Anabel González (Costa Rica); Amina C. Mohamed (Kenya) and Ahmad Hindawi Thougan (Jordan). There are now five candidates remaining.

The results of the first stage show that Dr. Blanco’s candidacy has received a large amount of support from the WTO member countries.

"Now a much more competitive stage begins in which the member countries will have a smaller range of choices regarding the candidates. I will continue to explain my vision of the WTO’s future and how to maintain its importance and its ability to help less developed countries," he said.

As part of his global campaign, Dr. Herminio Blanco has met with representatives from nearly a hundred countries, including Heads of State or Heads of Government, Ministers and diplomats on four continents. He has also given about 90 interviews in Mexico and abroad, which have been published in over 13 languages.

The selection process will end with a meeting of the WTO General Council no later than May 31, 2013, during which a new Director General will be elected based on the consensus reached prior to the meeting.

Three more candidates are expected to drop out of the process after the second stage and by the end of April. However, it is possible that only two candidates will be asked to withdraw after the second round, which would necessitate a fourth round. This will depend on the preferences of the member countries.