Philippines to assist in fight against drugs

Colombo (News1st): The Philippine government has agreed to support Sri Lanka to curtail drug smuggling in the country. A group of specialists from the Philippines will arrive in the country in the coming days, to provide technical assistance in this matter. In the last day of his official state visit to the Philippines, President Maithripala Sirisena visited the Police Headquarters of the Phillipines and engaged in a tour of the Narcotics bureau of the Police. Following the tour, the President held discussions with top officials of the Phillipine police. At the discssion, the President stated that he is carrying out an active and open mission to combat drug smuggling, in Sri Lanka. He added, that Sri Lanka, due to its geographical placement, is a famous transit point for many drug smugglers, and said, he expects the support of all friendly nations to block illegal narcotics from entering Sri Lanka. President Sirisena, who commended the Phillipine President on his aggressive fight to combat illegal narcotics, went on to say that he had engaged in this state tour of the Phillipines as a sign of respect to the crackdown on illegal narcotics being carried out by the President of the Phillipines. The President also went onto state that although the drug menace is a huge challenge to many nations, in some nations it cannot be eradicated since many policy makers and politicians are directly involded in the drug trade. He had also stressed that he will take various steps throughout this year to carry out his fight against illegal drugs.