Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino arrived in Singapore on Saturday, October 3, kicking off a state visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and positioning Panama as a key player in global logistics, air services, and carbon market cooperation.
What Happened
President Mulino landed at Changi International Airport, where he was received by Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, protocol chief Harold Lee, and Lynette Long, director general of the Americas Directorate at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Panama’s delegation included Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and Panama’s ambassador to Singapore, Sebastián Breto Pérez.
During the visit, Mulino is scheduled to meet with Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with bilateral meetings planned between authorities of both countries. On Sunday, the president will tour the Tuas Port, a megaproject whose first phase opened in 2022 and which is expected to be completed by 2040, becoming the world’s largest automated container terminal.
The agenda includes strengthening bilateral relations, cooperation in air services, the start of negotiations for a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty between Panama and Singapore, and evaluation of a memorandum of understanding on carbon credit cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to trade internationally in greenhouse gas emission reductions to meet their national climate targets.
On Monday, October 5, accompanied by First Lady Maricel Cohen de Mulino, the president will attend an orchid-naming ceremony at the Orchid Garden, an official protocol act the Singapore government offers to distinguished visitors. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mulino will meet with the president and prime minister, followed by a State Banquet hosted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam with state ministers and the diplomatic corps. Later that day, Mulino travels to Hanoi, Vietnam, for the second leg of the official tour, aimed at reinforcing Panama-Vietnam bilateral relations.
Background
Singapore and Panama share notable similarities: both are small nations whose economies revolve around strategic maritime and logistics hubs. Singapore’s Tuas Port represents the kind of large-scale, automated port infrastructure that Panama, home of the Panama Canal, is watching closely as it seeks to modernize its own logistics platform.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, referenced in the planned memorandum, establishes mechanisms for international carbon markets, allowing countries to transfer emission reductions to help meet their national climate commitments. For Panama, whose forests and geography give it potential in carbon markets, cooperation with Singapore could open new avenues for climate finance.
Mulino’s delegation also includes Canal Minister José Ramón Icaza, Tocumen International Airport general manager José Ruiz, and Kristel Getzler, head of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness at the Ministry of the Presidency, underscoring the trade and infrastructure focus of the trip.
What This Means for Panama
The visit signals Panama’s effort to deepen ties with one of Asia’s most advanced logistics and financial hubs. Cooperation in air services could expand connectivity, an important factor for Tocumen’s role as a regional aviation hub, while a mutual legal assistance treaty would strengthen legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries.
The potential carbon credit memorandum aligns with Panama’s interest in monetizing its environmental assets under the Paris Agreement framework. Meanwhile, the Tuas Port tour offers the Panamanian delegation a firsthand look at cutting-edge port automation, insights that could inform Panama’s own infrastructure ambitions as competition among global trade routes intensifies.
The continuation of the tour in Vietnam, a longstanding shipping partner of Panama, suggests Panama is pursuing a broader strategy of reinforcing relationships across Asia, a region central to global trade flows through the Canal.
This story was originally reported by Nex Panama.