In an effort to further strengthen bilateral relations with South and Central America, external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar will be leaving for a four nations visit later this month. He is visiting Colombia, Panama, Guyana and Dominican Republic and in each of these countries he will be having a meeting with his counterparts as well as meeting the business community and Indian Diaspora.
Though the agenda of the visit has yet to be announced officially, according to sources the focus of the visit to all four countries is going to be on food and energy security, trade and investments, people to people connect, education, IT, space among other sectors.
India & Panama
It is important to note that the Panamanian Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney’s visit to India for the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention this year comes at a time when India is focusing on connecting with its Diaspora terming as a main conduit of relationship between the two countries.
In January this year the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the training of diplomats. This agreement was exchanged in the presence of External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Panamanian Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney, on the sidelines of the PBD in Indore.
With this agreement in place diplomats of both sides will continue to benefit from the exchange of experiences and knowledge in their respective fields of diplomatic academics.
It has been reported earlier that the Panamanian Foreign Minister came to India at the invitation of her Indian counterpart and had participated in the 17th edition of PBD which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During that meeting the two ministers had discussed a wide range of issues including the current global situation and also ways of expanding cooperation in new areas – health, economics, finance and people to people ties.
The two sides had also talked about tapping opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector and the advances made in the fiscal and banking sectors.
In November last year during the Foreign Office Consultation, emphasis was placed on the urgent need for the two sides to further deepen their cooperation, including economic domain.
Financial Express Online has reported earlier that one of the biggest advantages for India to further strengthen relations with Central American nation Panama is that it is blessed with probably the largest number of Diaspora from India in the entire LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) region with approx 20,000 Indians living there.
Panama, which is safe and secure and politically stable, has a dollarized economy with a tropical climate all year round. The population there is warm and receptive, a wide range of food products are available, has a thriving Hospitality and thriving tourism sector and is close to the US.
It is considered as the Bridge of the World and Heart of Universe; it is known as the “Hub of Hubs”. For India deepening of relations would be advantageous for considering it as a gateway to the region as it will be easier to connect with logistics companies, Freight Forwarders, 3PL and 4PL logistics services, including warehousing, value addition, and Supply Chain Management.
India can also look at Panama City as the Banking and Finance Hub of the Americas. A top diplomat who wished to remain anonymous suggested that “it is important for India to open branches of some Banks from India. And there should be talks about having direct flights between the two countries and the need of time is to start with twice a week flights.”
Adding, “Tocumen Intl Airport (Panama City) is directly connected to more than 90 destinations. Especially to all the airports of the LAC region.”
Since the cost of living is not very high, India can take offshore advantage of IT and ITeS projects from Panama which has well trained well trained bilingual workforce.
Investment Opportunities
While the minister will be in Panama, an industry body is taking a business delegation to Panama. There are investment opportunities in agricultural lands, good ROI, possibility of re-export of agri produce like Teakwood and Pine to entire Americas, Europe and even to Asia products like coffee, avocado, pine and teak to India.
Robust Investment possibilities in Apartments, Houses, Resorts, and Villas, as Panama is the most sought after Retirement Destination in Central America.
Film Production and dissemination from Panama
Well equipped Studios. Beautiful locations, easy access, workforce is naturally trained in dance and music, supportive Film Laws with incentives to foreign filmmakers, and is within a distance of 80km access to Pacific, Atlantic, Panama Canal, various lakes, water bodies, Skyscrapers and range of biodiversity.
India should address issues including:
“India does not figure in the list of “friendly nations” for Panama. There is no denying the fact that undue advantage in the past has been taken by some Indians who have used Panama as transit for illegal migration. However, India should talk about consular issues and visas for business and tourists during the forthcoming visit,” said the top diplomat quoted above.
To drive businesses both ways in order to set the stage towards signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) there is an urgent need for a CEO Forum between India and Panama.
