By Newsroom Panama
President Jos茅 Ra煤l Mulino will travel to Argentina this Wednesday to attend the 66th Summit of Heads of State of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), where Panama will participate for the first time as an Associate State. As an Associate State, Panama will be able to participate in economic, trade, and cooperation processes with Mercosur without adhering to the Common External Tariff Agreement. According to a statement from the Presidency, Mulino emphasized that Panama offers Mercosur its logistics platform for access to other markets, including Central America and the Caribbean.
For its part, Panama gains market access to a bloc of countries that make up one of the largest economies in the world. Mercosur represents the fifth largest economy in the world and the first in Latin America, with more than 271 million inhabitants and a gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.6 trillion dollars. This bloc of countries has Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia as full members. Additionally, Panama, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Suriname participate as Associate States. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI) emphasized that the objective of the rapprochement is to take advantage of Panama鈥檚 high degree of complementarity with Mercosur.
The statement also details that this collaboration will allow Panama to identify the needs and expectations of the private sector on both sides, while facilitating the creation of strategies aligned with the opportunities offered by Mercosur. Within this bloc of countries, Panama is projected to become the export logistics platform for agricultural and industrial products, primarily to Central and North America, and the Caribbean. This includes facilities with the Canal and its international ports, special economic zones such as the Panama-Pacific region, and a banking center. Panama will also seek to take full advantage of the bloc鈥檚 benefits, boosting economic growth and job creation in the country.