Alan Kyerematen, Ghana's candidate for the top World Trade Organisation (WTO) job, has declared that he is the best candidate for the job. The former Trade Minister, who made a formal presentation and spelt out his vision to the WTO council yesterday, said his experience in various sectors puts him above the other candidates. Mr Kyerematen, who is the African Union's choice for the job, has to contend with eight other candidates. It still remains unclear who the favourite candidate is, but sources at WTO say that Mr Kyerematen could become a strong player in the organisation's elections process, especially since he secured the backing of the African Union and the African Caribbean and Pacific Group. Speaking at WTO headquarters in Geneva last Tuesday after his presentation to the council, Mr Kyerematen said his experience puts him above the competition. "I see myself and what I believe makes me the right person for this job. If you look at the challenges that confront this organisation and you look at the work that the director has to do to address these challenges, my sense is that you need an individual who will come to this job with a combination of skills and experiences. It is true that there is a technical component for this job that supports the analytical work of the secretariat." He continued, "in that regard, I will come to this job not only as an economist, but also as a lawyer and I think these are the two most important requirements in terms of skill that will help a DG contribute to the strategic guidance for analytic work of this organisation." "But I also come to this job as someone who is a practical negotiator, and I have been involved in negotiations at the bilateral level, multilateral level and at the regional level in Africa. I also come to this job with a political insight which I think are absolutely critical," he added.