As WTO Members prepare for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon this March, WITA International has launched a new global webinar series: WTO Matters. The series explores the core functions of the WTO, reforms needed to keep the institution effective and relevant, and the key policy issues shaping debates.
The February 13 webinar continues our conversation on reform and features perspectives from WTO ambassadors representing a cross-section of the membership, offering insights into priorities heading into MC14 and the path forward for the organization. Topics we plan to discuss at this event are the reform proposal submitted by the EU in January, 2026. This event follows-on the event WITA hosted on February 4, 2026, with additional WTO nations.
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Sung-yo Choi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador Salomon Eheth, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cameroon to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador João Machado, Permanent Representative of the European Union to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization; Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations
Ambassador Mzukisi Qobo, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the World Trade Organization
Moderator: Angela Ellard, Senior Advisor (non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization
Speaker Biographies
Ambassador Sung-yo Choi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the World Trade Organization
Sung-yo Choi is Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea Mission to the World Trade Organization and the Co-coordinator of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement. She currently also serves as Chair of the WTO Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan. She is a career diplomat with extensive expertise in international trade negotiations and multilateral affairs and has been involved in WTO negotiations for over 15 years, as well as the Republic of Korea’s free trade area negotiations. Prior to returning to Geneva, she was Minister at the Delegation of the Republic Korea to the OECD in Paris. She holds an M.B.A. from Yale University and a B.A. in Communications from Seoul National University.
Ambassador Salomon Eheth, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cameroon to the World Trade Organization
Salomon Eheth is the new Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Eheth had been serving as Director of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon since 2017. He was an Advisor to the President of Cameroon from 2000 to 2017, and Chief of the Service of Regulations at the Ministry of External Relations of Cameroon from 1989 to 2000. A career diplomat, Mr. Eheth has participated in many meetings within the framework of the United Nations, the African Union and other international organizations. Mr. Eheth has a Ph.D. in international relations and international law from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon, University of Yaounde. He was born on 15 May 1961 in Ndikinimeki, Cameroon, and is married with five children.
Ambassador Mzukisi Qobo, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the World Trade Organization
Mzukisi Qobo is South Africa’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO). He also chairs the WTO Committee on Trade and Development. Previously, he was Head of School at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He has served on the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. He obtained his PhD in International Studies from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
Ambassador João Machado, Permanent Representative of the European Union to the World Trade Organization
João Aguiar Machado is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the European Union to the World Trade Organization in Geneva since October 2019. Before taking up his current position, Mr. Aguiar Machado was Director-General for Maritime Policy and Fisheries at the European Commission, Brussels, since 2015. From 2014 to August 2015, he served as Director-General of Mobility and Transport at the European Commission. He has 16 years of experience working on trade policy and external relations, where he served as Deputy Director-General at the Directorate-General for Trade at the European Commission. Mr Aguiar Machado is Portuguese; he studied economics both in Lisbon and at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.
Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization
Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota is Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Brazilian career diplomat since 1985, with extensive multilateral experience. Served at Brazil’s Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and as a delegate in various areas such as trade, disarmament, intellectual property, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Moderator: Angela Ellard, Senior Advisor (non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization
Angela Paolini Ellard a Senior Advisor (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Angela is renowned for her expertise in trade and international economic policy, resolving trade barriers, negotiating outcomes, and building coalitions. She is Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC. Ms. Ellard served as Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization from June 2021 to August 2025. During her tenure, she was responsible for dispute settlement/reform, trade remedies, market access/trade facilitation, and negotiations to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. As a diplomat and key member of the senior leadership team, she supervised the Secretariat’s facilitation of the successful conclusion and entry into force of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. She also oversaw the WTO budget and financial operations, providing transparency and accountability as well as sound fiscal management.
Previously, Ms. Ellard had a distinguished 26-year career as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel in the U.S. Congress. She achieved significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes with Congressional leaders and five Presidential administrations, including trade agreement negotiation and implementation, development programs, and U.S. trade and customs laws. Before her tenure on the Hill, she practiced law at major U.S.law firms, focusing on trade litigation, policy, and legislation.
She earned her J.D. cum laude/Tulane Law School, M.A. in Public Policy/Tulane University, and B.A. summa cum laude/Tulane’s Newcomb College. She speaks and lectures worldwide and has received numerous awards for her leadership and contributions to trade law and policy.
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