Panama is a land bustling with stimulation, connection, transformation and full of authenticity. It’s a perfect example where old and new worlds coexist, and cosmopolitan landscapes live in harmony with wild and untamed rainforests.

Panama has a very strong port economy, not only because of the Panama Canal, but because of its international ports that receive tons of diverse merchandise on a daily basis. It is consolidating its position as one of the main logistic zones, not only in the region but also in the world.

“Panama is currently taking full advantage of the physical and human capital of the Panama Canal, as well as the capital of the country’s main international ports, with the aim of turning this area into one of the main logistics hubs of the continent and the entire world,” expresses HE Mrs Yasiel Burillo, Ambassador and Consul General of Panama in India.

HE Mrs Burillo has an MBA and over 15 years of experience where her main focus was on Regional Marketing for Latin America. She has worked at a variety of highly recognised global brands corporations focusing in areas such as: Direct Marketing, Consumers, Retailing and Wholesales, Medium Business and Large Enterprise, Education & Marketing Relationship.

Commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of Panama´s Independence, HE Mrs Burillo in an all exclusive conversation with Marex Media, shares her thoughts on making Panama – main logistics hubs of the entire world.

On unique offers…
Panama is a global player in world trade and centre of excellence for the Americas. It has a geostrategic position; strong air and maritime connectivity; a platform for commercial logistics services that is unique in the region; a stable economic, political and social environment; and extensive experience in providing services to international markets.

Because of its trade volume, Panama has the second largest duty-free trade zone in the world – the Colon Free Zone. Panama has become the multimodal logistics hub of the Americas, where it also exercises joint agility between the aligned air and maritime systems.

On being a Maritime Hub…
With a central location and modern commercial infrastructure, Panama has become the maritime hub in the region. It has a world-class port infrastructure, both in the Pacific and the Atlantic, which has optimizes global maritime navigation through which 5% of all the world’s goods are circulated.

The expansion of the Panama Canal has been a key factor to the development of Panama’s maritime port hub. Currently, the Panama Canal is serving a total of 180 maritime routes connecting to 1,920 ports in 170 countries. Through this expansion, a number of routes and new terminals have become points of origin and destination for cargo transiting the Canal.

It is worth mentioning that in 2019, this entire port system allowed the mobilization of 7.3 million TEUs through the most important shipping lines.

As a flag state, Panama has registered 24 largest container ships in the world, in relation to their cargo capacity, totalling 5.5M GT and having less than 2 years of construction.

On making it a grandiose maritime Hub…
Panama has the best port infrastructure in Latin America, consisting of a large conglomerate of state-owned ports, private ports terminals (concession), private terminals (concession), piers, docks, shipyards and ramps. This conglomerate constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of the economy.

There has been much progress in terms of technological advances. The pandemic potentially accelerated the digitalization of the logistics sector in Panama, achieving more efficient processes and to boost trade.

I am glad to mention the processes and technology used:
• Re-engineering of processes
• Panama Maritime One-Stop Maritime Window
• Logistics Sector Integration Platform

On changes done during COVID-19 Pandemic…
In the convulsive scenario of the pandemic, the Panama Canal assimilated the changes to continue guaranteeing transit. During this period, the Panama Canal revenues grew 11% in the third quarter, reporting total revenues of close to $3 billion in the first nine months of the year.

On measures taken during COVID-19 Pandemic…
1. Maritime Humanitarian Hub of the Americas:
• Panama stood out for its response to the seafarers’ crisis in the midst of the pandemic, allowing crew changes (under IMO best practices). This was of great importance, as it meant that maritime trade was not interrupted, highlighting the response capacity and commitment to seafarers.
• Panama is recognized by the IMO as the only country to create a protocol manual for change of crew, benefiting more than 16,000 seafarers worldwide.
• In addition, Panama was the only country that provided humanitarian support to the Zaandam cruise ship, which was stranded during critical moments of COVID-19.

2. COVID19 Vaccine Distribution Hub in Latin America
• Panama’s ports joined forces to optimize supply routes for the distribution of the COVID19 vaccine

3. The Humanitarian Assistance Regional Logistic Centre
• Also known as the “Humanitarian Hub of the Americas” had transferred on 2020 a total of 847 tons of international humanitarian load with a value of 12.3 million dollars. 326 tons of these were personal protective equipment for COVID that had been transported to more than 30 countries in Latin America. Thanks to the contribution of the United Nations, Red Cross and other organizations.

On various measures adopted towards the environment…
1. Panama is a one of the three-leading carbon negative countries. Panama forest land (approximately 65%) captures more carbon gas than the total gas emissions, thus making Panama a carbon negative country.

2. Panama Canal Contributions
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction: As the Panama Canal’s connectivity expands, so does its positive environmental impact. In 2020 the Panama Canal contributed to a reduction of 13 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), allowing ships to save time and fuel. Since its inauguration in 1914, the Canal has contributed to the reduction of more than 850 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Water-Saving Basins: The Panama Canal has succeeded in managing the water level, to safeguard an operational level and provide reliability to its customers. The expanded Panama Canal has 18 water-saving basins that reuse 60% of the water used per lock.
• Shorter Distance – Fewer Emissions: The Panama Canal has contributed to the reduction of fuel consumption (therefore emissions) as it shortens travel distances. This has a positive impact on the reduction of global greenhouse gases compared to other routes.
• Seasonal Measures to protect Migrating Marine Life: From August 1 to November 30, the Panama Canal has implemented speed and traffic recommendations established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in order to protect whales, dolphins and other large aquatic animals as they begin their seasonal migration.

3. Panama Maritime Authority:
• IMO Measures: Panama has incorporated into national legislation all regulations and technical and operational measures, which have been established to reduce emissions from the maritime sector and contribute to the objectives of adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change globally. In particular, measures to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships engaged in international trade.
• MARPOL Convention: Panama has implemented Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. This convention obligates ships to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Also in these difficult times, a modernization of the Panama Ship Registry and Seafarers procedures has been carried out to be close to customers, shortening distances and with a 24/7 service. These changes include the introduction of a digital token and being able to reduce processing time by 70%, being environmentally friendly and promoting a paperless work environment.

4. Panama Leader in Marine Protected Area Extension: Panama has increased its marine protected area by 30%. Through this commitment, Panama seeks to protect marine life and sustainability of marine resources. This initiative supports the global 30×30 movement of the Paris Agreement on climate action.

5. Our Ocean Conference: Panama will host this global conference in 2022 that seeks to mobilize the international community to conserve marine ecosystems and fight climate change.

6. Our country is in a unique position to lead the international community towards a better future.

Message from Ambassador…
It is an honour for me and my team to represent Panama in this beautiful and diverse country, where Panama enjoys friendly and dynamic bilateral relationships. The India-Panama connection dates back to the mid-19th century and is the oldest in the Central American region.

Our country plays a very important role within the international maritime transportation, being the leader of the world´s largest merchant fleet with over 8,000 vessels, representing 17% of the world’s fleet. In relation to this, the India-Panama connection continues to connect its people through ships and ports. We gladly say that India represents an important manpower with seafarers for the Panamanian Registry. It is worth mentioning that the number of active Indian seafarers has grown 45% in the last years. Indian seafarers are one of the largest of vessels under our flag, representing one of the major seafarers supplying nations to the global maritime industry. Hence, being one of the many more connections we proudly share.

The Consulate General of Panama in Mumbai provides services and assistance with Seafarer Licenses and Shipping Services from the Panama Maritime Authority. Also, we are very excited to mention that we recently launch our website www.panamamissionindia.com, which serves as an important window to learn about Panama and our Maritime Services, including dynamic information and dedicated service.

You can follow the Embassy’s activities on Facebook and Instagram accounts under @Embpanamaind. Our Embassy and Consulate are here for you, more than ever, whether you are a Panamanian citizen or simply interested in knowing more about our country and what we can achieve together.