Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea's trade chief  at a press conference in Geneva on July 16, 2020. (photo: AFP/ TTXVN)

The long-expected endorsement at a meeting in Brussels was blocked until the last minute by Hungary, which had lent its support to Britain's former trade minister Liam Fox and Amina Mohamed of Kenya. The EU's backing gives the two candidates a big boost, coming a day before an initial pool of eight candidates is whittled down to two to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down last month.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former finance minister at a press conference in Geneva on July 15, 2020. (Photo: AFP/ TTXVN)

The choice of Okonjo-Iweala comes amid calls for an African to finally get a shot at running the organisation which has had three director-generals from Europe, and one each from Oceania, Asia and South America since its creation in 1995.

The WTO aims to select a winner in November, but some have expressed concern that political bickering could draw out the process.