President of Panama boosts economic relations with Switzerland and Singapore at Davos Forum

Davos (Switzerland).- The President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, held bilateral meetings this Monday with his counterparts from Switzerland and Singapore at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, with the aim of strengthening economic relations and promoting new investment opportunities for the country.

Mulino first met with the President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, with whom he agreed to "strengthen bilateral relations", as Switzerland is the third largest investor in Panama, with a capital of 5.5 billion dollars concentrated in the commercial, financial and manufacturing sectors, according to the Panamanian Presidency.

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During the meeting, the Panamanian president highlighted Panama's recent incorporation into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), the fifth-largest trade bloc in the world, "which positions the country as a platform of access for the Swiss pharmaceutical industry towards South America". In commercial matters, the official information details, the parties agreed to promote bilateral exchange, with coffee being the main Panamanian export product to Switzerland, while Panama imports pharmaceutical products, watchmaking, optical devices and alcoholic beverages from that country. Parmelin expressed interest in "knowing the strategy of the Panamanian merchant marine", the largest in the world, and the country's logistical potential, driven by the Panama Canal, while Mulino, for his part, presented the projects on the interoceanic route, including a water reservoir, two megaport and a gas pipeline. The missive points out that both leaders highlighted the recent opening of the Panamanian embassy in Bern and the Panamanian request for Switzerland to adhere to the Treaty of Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, which would reinforce the Swiss role as guarantor of the neutrality of the Canal and of global trade and navigation routes, constituting a key message in favor of international law and global peace. Within the framework of the forum, Mulino also held a bilateral meeting with the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, whom he invited to encourage a greater presence of the business sector of that country in Panama, "especially in the aviation, technology, energy and logistics sectors, among others, with the aim of taking advantage of the connectivity platform to access the Latin American market." During the meeting, projects of the Panama Canal were also discussed, including plans for two future megaport, as well as Panamanian interest in Singapore's participation as a "strategic enclave" in the development of the semiconductor industry. Mulino also extended the invitation for Singapore to adhere to the Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty. Shanmugaratnam expressed his interest in "intervening so that his country's aviation industry resumes operations in Panama, once again reflecting the advantage that is now added, being part of the Mercosur bloc." The Panamanian president was accompanied by ministers Felipe Chapman (Economy and Finance), José Ramón Icaza (Canal Affairs) and Julio Moltó (Commerce and Industries), as well as the Secretary of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness of the Presidency, Kristelle Getzler.