Nigeria, Feb. 17 -- Nigeria's former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday emerged the new director general of the World Trade Organization, becoming the first woman and African to hold the top post.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala's five-year term begins March 1 and is renewable.

Unlike the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the WTO has not been in the news so frequently, and many may not really understand what this important global trade body does and how it contributes to the world's economy.

So what are is functions and what will Mrs Okonjo-Iweala's role be for the next five years?

The World Trade Organisation, (WTO), is a global organisation that deals with trade between countries.

It was officially established on Janu...