WTO Pays Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo has conveyed his condolences on the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela.

"I would like to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela. On behalf of the WTO and the entire fraternity, I offer my deepest condolences to his family, to the people of South Africa and to people all over the world whose lives have been touched by him. He was truly one of a kind,and he offered hope and inspiration to all," stated Roberto Azêvedo, in a statement issued here on Friday.

Azevedo is in Bali, Indonesia, for the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference, which is being held between December 3 and 6, 2013.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, noted President Jacob Zuma, as reported by Reuters.

Mandela, the country's first black President and anti-apartheid icon, guided South Africa through bloodshed and turmoil to democracy, after 27 years in apartheid prisons.

"Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rohlihla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation, has departed," confirmed Zuma in a nationally televised address. (INE/M038)