He said the award honours “the Director-General's commitment both to strengthening the capacities of French-speaking countries for inclusive and sustainable international trade and to her efforts in favour of multilingualism”.

In her acceptance speech for the award, the Director-General expressed her deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to the GAF. She stressed that “la Francophonie can be a strong ally in the search for consensus within the WTO. The diversity of economic profiles within the OIF makes the organization a kind of laboratory for multilateralism. If la Francophonie reaches a common position on one of the topics discussed at the WTO, it can help forge consensus on this or other issues among all our 164 members.”

On 27 February, the WTO and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation with a view to increasing the participation of French-speaking countries in the multilateral trading system.

The Group of Francophone Ambassadors (GAF) prize for 2022 was also awarded to the Swiss Press Club.