Nigeria, Philippines discuss cooperation, drug trafficking

 Five Filipinos convicted of smuggling large quantities of prohibited drugs have been executed in China since 2011 and 10 cases are still pending in Chinese courts. In exchange for huge payments, ranging from $3,000 to $4,000, Filipino women and lately even men are reportedly being hired by West African drug syndicates to smuggle drugs mainly […]

 Five Filipinos convicted of smuggling large quantities of prohibited drugs have been executed in China since 2011 and 10 cases are still pending in Chinese courts. In exchange for huge payments, ranging from $3,000 to $4,000, Filipino women and lately even men are reportedly being hired by West African drug syndicates to smuggle drugs mainly in Asia and South America – sometimes by ingesting it.
“We have to cooperate to stop the illegal trafficking not just in humans but trafficking in drugs. We need to work together to stop these illegal activities,” Nigerian Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru told reporters after meeting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ashiru, who was in Manila for a two-day official visit, said a joint meeting between the Philippines and Nigeria on the fight against drug trafficking will be held later this year in the Philippines. Del Rosario and Ashiru also discussed economic cooperation and investment opportunities and enhancement of people-to-people exchange between the Philippines and Nigeria.
“There is so much room for improvement in terms of increasing our trade and investment flows between our two countries,” Del Rosario said. While in Manila, Ashiru also met with top Filipino business executives from the telecommunications, manufacturing and airline industries to explore business opportunities and sustain the momentum in the on-going expansion of trade and investment flow between the two countries.
The Philippines, a Department of Foreign Affairs statement said, is also looking at the possibility of importing crude oil from Nigeria.
In 2012, Nigeria ranked as the Philippines’ seventh largest trading partner in Africa. It is a market for machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals. The Nigerian community in the Philippines is composed mostly of students and businessmen, while an estimated 7,200 Filipino nationals in Nigeria are skilled, office and professional workers. (GMA News, Philippines)