BRASILIA, Aug 30 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Panamanian colleague José Raúl Mulino met in Brasilia to advance the Central American country’s accession to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).
In addition, the two leaders instructed their teams to begin negotiations aimed at addressing the existing trade imbalance, as Brazil’s exports far outweigh Panama’s exports.
“We have instructed our teams to move forward with negotiations for a trade agreement and another agreement to promote investment” with Panama, which would be extended to the other Mercosur partners, said Lula alongside Mulino, who was in Brasilia on an official visit.
Brazil currently holds the six-month presidency of the South American bloc, which also includes Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, with Bolivia in the process of joining as a full member and Panama having had associate status since last December.
During the meeting, Lula also voiced his strong support for Panama’s sovereignty over the interoceanic canal, which has been challenged by US President Donald Trump, who, in Lula’s words, “attempts to restore old hegemonies” and use trade as a “tool of coercion and blackmail.” Brazil plans to join the Treaty of Permanent Neutrality of the Canal, he also mentioned.
Beyond trade, the two nations signed or agreed to several other memoranda of understanding on agriculture, particularly in technology transfer and animal health, plus a cooperation and investment facilitation agreement to provide legal certainty for businesses.
Moreover, Panama will purchase Brazilian-built military aircraft, it was explained, while both countries will expand cooperation in logistics and maritime transport, and partnerships in science and technology, including vaccine development.
Both presidents concurred on the importance of combating hunger and poverty in Latin America and pledged to work together on regional forums and environmental issues, such as the upcoming COP30 summit in Brazil. Mulino also invited Lula to attend a major economic forum in Panama in January next year. — NNN-MERCOPRESS
