"India is a very important country for Panama": President Jose Raul Mulino

New York [US], September 24 (ANI): Panama President Jose Raul Mulino, in an exclusive conversation with ANI, has underlined the importance of India-Panama ties, describing India as a strategic partner and highlighting prospects for greater collaboration.
"India is a very important country for Panama. The relationship between India and Panama is in a great, great position this time. India is a strategic country for us, and we are sharing information with respect to the possibility of increasing India's investment in technology, medicine, production, and many things in Panama," Mulino told ANI on sidelines of UNGA meeting.
India-Panama relations are among the oldest in the Central American region, dating back to the middle of the 19th Century when groups of Indians came to Panama to work on the construction of Panama Railways and later the Panama Canal in the early 20th Century. Diplomatic relations between India and Panama were formally established in 1962.
Panama and India have had cordial, warm and friendly relations, based on mutual understanding and growing bilateral trade and all round cooperation.
Panama is also the first country in Central America where India established a resident Mission in 1973.
Since then, about 15000 persons of Indian origin have made Panama their home which has helped in enhancingthe level of interaction between the two rich cultures.
India-Panama relationship share common values of democracy, multiculturalism and secularism.
Future areas of mutual cooperation and understanding are being identified and the two countries are poised to elevate the bilateral relations to a new higher level.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Panama in 2023 and both sides expressed a strong desire to enhance relations, particularly in the economic sphere. (ANI)