Mulino opens a Singapore agenda of ports, carbon credits and chips
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino arrived in Singapore on Saturday, 3 October, on the first stop of an official tour that continues to Vietnam. He is due back in Panama on 8 October. Sunday’s programme includes Tuas port, whose first phase opened in 2022 and whose completion is projected for 2040. Meetings with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong are planned, alongside air services, a mutual legal-assistance treaty and carbon-credit cooperation. Canal Minister José Ramón Icaza and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha are in the delegation.
Geopolitics··Midday
Mulino arrives with the canal minister and foreign minister
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino arrived in Singapore on Saturday, 3 October, for an official visit. On Monday he is due to meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The tour continues to Vietnam, and Mulino is due back in Panama on 8 October. Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and Canal Minister José Ramón Icaza are travelling with him.[1], [2]
During the Singapore stay, Mulino is expected to advance six bilateral agreements. One concerns the exchange of carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Another concerns the National Semiconductor Strategy. The same set includes instruments on air-services cooperation, maritime logistics projects, promotion of the merchant marine, and the strengthening of relations between the two countries. The published agenda also lists meetings with authorities and business people, and the signing of agreements meant to widen bilateral cooperation and draw investment to Panama. Meetings between officials of the two governments are also scheduled. Sunday’s stop at Tuas is described as one of Singapore’s main port works. This stop is the first of that official tour.[1]
Tuas port sits beside the air, legal and carbon files
On Sunday Mulino is due to visit Tuas port. The terminal’s first phase opened in 2022. Completion is projected for 2040, when the port is expected to become the world’s largest automated container terminal.[1], [2]
The agenda includes air-services cooperation and the opening of negotiations for a bilateral mutual legal-assistance treaty between Panama and Singapore, together with carbon-credit cooperation under the Paris Agreement.[1], [2]
Mulino arrived at Changi International Airport. The visit focuses on maritime cooperation, green investment and logistics projects. A memorandum on carbon-credit cooperation under the Paris Agreement is also under consideration. Under that agreement, one country may transfer to another the credits it obtains by cutting emissions, including credits generated by approved projects.[2]
Monday’s ceremony precedes the Hanoi leg
On Monday, 5 October, Mulino is due to meet Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Lawrence Wong and to attend an orchid-naming ceremony with the first lady. The tour then continues in Hanoi.[1], [2]
On 5 October First Lady Maricel Cohen de Mulino is to join the naming of an orchid at Orchid Garden. The Monday programme also includes official meetings and a state banquet offered by the Singaporean president. From 6 October in Hanoi, Mulino is to meet authorities including President Tô Lâm, the president of the National Assembly and the Vietnamese prime minister, and to take part in a Panama–Vietnam business forum aimed at connecting markets and creating commercial opportunities. That leg seeks wider cooperation in security, agriculture, maritime education, tourism and maritime transport, together with economic and commercial links. The delegation also includes Tocumen general manager José Ruiz and Kristel Getzler of the Secretariat of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness in the Ministry of the Presidency.[1]
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