mb.com
By MADEL R. SABATER
Saturday, December 19, 2009
As part of efforts to strengthen anti-piracy measures in the coast of Somalia, where some 53 Filipino seafarers are still being held captive, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Abdurahman Aden Ibrahim Ibbi is slated to visit the country from December 21 to 23.
The Somali official will be accompanied by Somali Ambassador to Indonesia Mohamud Olow Barow and Somali Navy Commander Admiral Farah Ahmed Omar.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), this is the first visit to the Philippines of a high-ranking Somali official since the official visit in January 1979 of Somali Foreign Minister Abdurahman Jama Barre.
It said that possible areas of cooperation and training that will be explored in the Manila meetings include maritime security, search and rescue, law enforcement operations, combating piracy, marine environmental protection, as well as aquaculture and human resource development.
The visit is expected to boost the Philippines’ anti-piracy efforts. Filipino seafarers are among those who were frequently victimized by piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Filipinos account for 20 percent of the world’s seafarers.
Prior to the visit of the Somali official, it will be recalled that Jordan Ministry of Labor Ghazi Shbeikat was in the country last weekend for the signing of a new labor cooperation between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Philippines.
Last month, foreign officials who visited the country include US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Canadian Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) chairman Jia Qinglin, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, and Indonesia Foreign Minister Dr. R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa.