)
Sports CS Amina Mohamed on Friday secured a big win in her race to become the next Director General of the power World Trade Organization (WTO).
WTO General Council Chair David Walker on Friday announced that Ms Mohamed was one of the five candidates who have been shortlisted for the next stage of the selection process.
Three candidates were dropped after two-week consultations between representatives of the 164-member WTO.
Apart from Ms Mohamed, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, Ms Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea, Mr Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri of Saudi Arabia and Dr Liam Fox of the United Kingdom - all qualified for the next stage.
)
)
)
The next selection exercise will take place between September 24th and October 6th after which two candidates will be picked for the final selection stage.
Reports indicate a general feeling that the next Director General should come from Africa with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala regarded as Ms Mohamed's biggest challenger.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has embarked on an aggressive campaign to campaign for CS Mohamed.
If elected, Amina will become the first African to head the WTO which has been criticized for favoring developed western countries at the expense of developing countries.
The Sports CS will also have to quit her Cabinet position as the WTO Director General's job is permanent with an office in Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2017, Kenya spent Sh347 million in Ms Mohamed's unsuccessful bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson's seat which was won by Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad.