President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and President José Raúl Mulino Strengthen Strategic Partnership Between the Two Countries

The President of the United Mexican States, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, welcomed the President of the Republic of Panama, José Raúl Mulino Quintero, to the National Palace during his official visit to Mexico. The leaders reaffirmed the historic ties of friendship between the two countries and their commitment to strengthening their bilateral strategic partnership to advance sustainable development, regional integration, and the wellbeing of their peoples.

The presidents highlighted the complementary roles of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal as strategic platforms for strengthening logistics connectivity, international trade, and global supply chains. They agreed to expand cooperation on transportation, infrastructure, and connectivity, including the exchange of experience in rail transport.

Both leaders reaffirmed that the Panama Canal's permanent neutrality remains fully in force under the 1977 Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, as well as Panama's full sovereignty over that interoceanic waterway.

President Sheinbaum and President Mulino agreed to work toward making better use of the Mexico-Panama Free Trade Agreement-eleven years after it took effect-to increase trade, promote investment, and build on the complementary strengths of both economies. They also noted progress toward signing the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.

On technical and institutional cooperation, the two leaders acknowledged progress in preventing, controlling, and eradicating screwworm in livestock, and instructed their governments to strengthen technical information-sharing and institutional coordination. They also backed a commitment by the two countries' science, technology, and innovation ministries to strengthen joint research, knowledge transfer, and capacity building. In addition, they expressed their intention to move forward on a Memorandum of Understanding on transparency and access to public information, aimed at strengthening institutional cooperation and the exchange of best practices.

President Sheinbaum acknowledged Panama's organization of events marking the bicentennial of the 1826 Amphictyonic Congress, a milestone in Latin American unity convened by the Liberator Simón Bolívar. As part of the commemoration, Panama hosted a presidential summit last month, along with the 56th regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States and the 31st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States. Both leaders agreed to advance a Latin American and Caribbean agenda focused on cooperation, economic and social development, and integration, particularly through the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

To follow up on the commitments reached, they instructed their foreign ministers to convene the Meeting of the Council of the Mexico-Panama Strategic Partnership Agreement as soon as possible.

Finally, President Claudia Sheinbaum and President José Raúl Mulino reiterated their intention to continue deepening the bilateral relationship through political dialogue, cooperation, and a partnership aimed at generating greater opportunities for development, prosperity, and integration for Mexico, Panama, and the region.