To Strengthen Alliances and Attract Investment President Mulino Travels to Singapore and Vietnam.

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, will undertake an official tour of Asia, beginning in Singapore and concluding in Vietnam, with the aim of opening new markets, strengthening strategic alliances, and attracting investment to Panama. The president, accompanied by the first lady, Maricel Cohen de Mulino, will arrive in Singapore on October 4, where he will carry out an official agenda that will have as one of its main points a working meeting with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pictured below.

During the meeting, the signing of six bilateral agreements is expected, including an agreement for the exchange of carbon credits and the National Semiconductor Strategy.  The agreement also contemplates the signing of cooperation agreements on air services, the promotion of maritime logistics projects, the development of the merchant marine, and an additional instrument aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Panama and Singapore.  As part of the official agenda, Mulino and the First Lady pictured below, will participate in the orchid christening ceremony, an official activity that the Singaporean government offers to the Panamanian president as a distinguished personality. After concluding his agenda in Singapore, the president will travel to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where he will carry out the second part of the tour. 

In Vietnam, the agenda will focus on strengthening political, economic, and trade relations between the two countries. Progress is expected on cooperation instruments related to security, agriculture, maritime education, tourism, and maritime transport.  In addition, Mulino will seek to promote Panama as a logistics platform and gateway for Vietnamese products to Latin American markets, with special attention to opportunities linked to the maritime sector.  On Tuesday, October 6, the president will hold a meeting with representatives of Vietnamese shipping companies and the maritime sector. That same day, he will participate in the official program with the Secretary-General and President of Vietnam, To Lam, which will include a welcoming ceremony, a working meeting between the two leaders, and the exchange of bilateral instruments.  Meetings with the President of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Trần Thanh Mẫn, and with the Prime Minister of that country are scheduled for Wednesday, October 7. 

The tour will conclude with Mulino’s participation in the Panama-Vietnam Business Forum, entitled “Connecting Markets, Creating Opportunities,” jointly organized by the Embassy of Panama in Vietnam and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).  The meeting will bring together more than 70 Vietnamese business leaders from different sectors, as well as authorities linked to industry and trade.  During the forum, an agreement is also expected to be signed between the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) and the VCCI. The event will serve to present Panama as a logistics and services platform to facilitate the entry of Vietnamese companies and products into Latin American markets.  On this tour, President Mulino will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha; the Minister of the Canal, José Ramón Icaza; the Minister of Agricultural Development, Roberto Linares; and the General Manager of Tocumen International Airport, José Ruiz. The president is scheduled to return to Panama on October 8.