WTO Pays Tribute To Nelson Mandela

Nusa Dua, Bali, Dec 6 (Antara) - 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 Azvedo, 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. "Our people have lost their father. Although we knew this day was inevitable, nothing can diminish our sense of profound and enduring loss. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him respect from all over the world. His humility, passion and humanitarian outlook earned him their love," he added. Ordering flags to be flown at half mast, Zuma asserted that Mandela will receive a full state funeral. Mandela rose from rural obscurity to challenge the might of a white-minority apartheid government, a struggle that gave the 20th century one of its most respected and loved figures. He was among the first to advocate armed resistance to apartheid in 1960 but was quick to preach reconciliation and forgiveness when the country`s white minority began easing its grip on power, 30 years later. Mandela was elected President in the landmark all-race elections in 1994 and retired in 1999.