Well-positioned to serve as India's hub to LatAm: Panama foreign minister

Panama is well-positioned to serve as India’s hub to the Latin American region, given the country’s natural logistical advantages as a maritime hub, as well as open and business-friendly environment, Panamanian Foreign Minister JANAINA TEWANEY MENCOMO tells Shreya Nandi in an emailed interview. Trade will also diversify more once cross-border investment between Panama and India increases, days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s first visit to Panama. Edited excerpts:

How was your meeting with Jaishankar?

He made a historic first to Panama, the first for an Indian foreign minister. It is reflective of the goodwill between Panama and India and marks a turning point in the Panama-India relationship. Combined with my trip to India earlier this year, these visits have created a window of opportunity through which we can build a closer relationship between the two countries.

Is there any road map for India and Panama to deepen cooperation in the economic domain? Which sectors can we see collaboration, terms of trade and investment?

We are well-positioned to serve as India’s hub to the Latin American region, given our natural logistical advantages as a maritime hub, as well as our open and business-friendly environment.

One sector that is of particular interest to us is health care and pharmaceutical (pharma). During our joint press conference, Jaishankar and I discussed how Indian pharma companies could benefit from Panama’s logistical capabilities.

Panama is working with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to develop its capacity as a pharma hub. I also visited some of India’s leading pharma companies, and I look forward to catalysing deeper Indian-Panamanian cooperation in this sector. We are also looking at synergies in other sectors, like green energy, filmmaking, technology, and services.

How do you plan to diversify the trade basket between both nations?

The trade between India and Panama has been growing over the years. Panama may be a small country, but it has long punched above its weight.

Panama is India’s largest trade partner in the Central American region. Bilateral trade reached as much as $610 million in 2022. This is a record for India-Panama trade. As more businesses between Panama and India become aware of the opportunities for trade between both countries, through platforms such as the Latin America-India Forum organised this week, we can expect the trade basket to diversify. Trade will also diversify more once cross-border investment between Panama and India increases.

How is Panama’s relationship with India at a time when the global economy is grappling with disruptions such as Covid-19 and geopolitical tensions?

The last few years have been volatile in every sense — the pandemic had a profound economic effect on every country in the world, and the geopolitical tensions of the past year have created even more economic distress globally.

Given that the Panama Canal handles 6 per cent of total global maritime trade, this has had an impact on our economy as well.

Within this context, India has become even more important for Panama. We understand the growing importance of India, especially of the Indian economy. We have already seen the visits of the foreign ministers of both countries.

Panama plans to send an important delegation to India in August this year, a delegation composed of both business and political leaders. One other reason for our closeness is that Panama is home to the largest Indian diaspora in Spanish-speaking Latin America, with nearly 20,000 people who are of Indian origin. So we share not only economic and political interests but also a social and cultural bond dating back more than a century.

What were the key takeaways from the India-SICA (Central America Integration System) ministerial meeting?

The India-SICA meeting was a result of the goodwill shared between India and the SICA countries, and marks a positive step in deepening the relationship. We have decided to form working groups between India and the SICA countries and will focus on four areas, to begin with green energy, health care, digitalisation, and gender equality.

We will soon announce more concrete steps that have resulted as an outcome of the meeting, and have more regular dialogue between India and SICA.