The Philippines’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Mersole Mellejor, said bilateral trade between the two countries surged from $47 million in 2023 to $221 million in 2024, an increase of about 370 per cent.

Mr Mellejor said this in an interview on the sidelines of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Youth Entrepreneur National Youth Summit 2025 in Abuja.

According to him, the significant jump in trade volume was driven primarily by Nigeria’s exports.

The ambassador explained that Liquefied Natural Gas or methane, from Nigeria accounted for over 90 per cent of the Philippines’ imports from the country.

The envoy noted that the export helped in meeting the Philippines’ rising energy demand.

He said, “It’s a Philippine import of liquefied petroleum gas from Nigeria. It’s a trade imbalance in favour of Nigeria, but for the Philippines, it’s something good for us because it contributes to our energy security.”

He noted that the Philippines’ main source of petroleum and fuel products was the Middle East.

Mr Mellejor, however, noted that the country had now found another source in Nigeria, which he said was competitive.

“Now that we found another source in Nigeria, in terms of it being very competitive, and also the region, Nigeria and the region in Africa, it’s very stable. So, if you look at it from the perspective of energy security, it’s a good situation, not just for Nigeria, but also for the Philippines,” he said.

The envoy also expressed determination to deepen the diplomatic relations between his country and Nigeria, especially in terms of education and promotion of youth entrepreneurship.

“Let me start by saying that the two countries, the Republic of the Philippines and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, have very long-standing relations. We established diplomatic ties way back in 1961. And you can imagine how strong and how cordial our relations would be,” he said.

According to him, regarding facets of bilateral relations, there are two main important aspects. Number one would be people-to-people. Philippine citizens from the Philippines and Nigeria have been travelling to each other’s country for many years.

“Right now, we have a presence of around 4,000 Filipinos here; they occupy vital sectors of the economy. When it comes to trade, to the economic relations, particularly on trade and commerce, I’m very proud to say that over the last two years, there has been a very big improvement.

“This is because our trade volume was very small in 2023, right after the COVID pandemic, but it rebounded quite well and it grew very well way into the year 2020,” he said.

Commending President Bola Tinubu for initiating policies that were economic-based, he expressed support towards Nigeria’s goal of achieving a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

“I want to commend the government of Nigeria, led by His Excellency President Bola Tinubu. His one trillion-dollar economy plan is achievable and very realistic, considering the potential of Nigeria, as I’ve expressed earlier, in terms of the youthful population and in terms of resources. It’s just a matter of putting all the elements together, of course, in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. I am very convinced that the objective and the trust of getting into a one trillion economy in the near future are very realistic,” he said.

The envoy also commended NACCIMA for initiating the conference, which brought together stakeholders to unlock the youth potential in the development of the economy.

He said, “I commend the NACIMA and the youth leaders of the youth sector, the youth leadership of the organisation for the conference. I think this is a very good initiative that recognises the important role of youth entrepreneurs when it comes to national economic development.’’

(NAN)