Varela meets Vice President of India

President Juan Carlos Varela met with the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, in Panama on Wednesday May 9th to discuss how Panama could help increase India’s presence in Latin American.

President Juan Carlos Varela met with the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, in Panama on Wednesday May 9th to discuss how Panama could help increase India’s presence in Latin American.

"Panama has put its geographical position at India’s disposal to become its gate to the rest of the region, as a hub for logistics and air connectivity," Varela explained in a press conference. He continued, “we want to help India strengthen its competitiveness in world trade by means of our logistics platform.” 

Varela spoke to his desire to build a“more robust" bilateral agenda with India and would work towards establishing "technological, scientific and agricultural" projects in Panama, as well as promote tourism.

Naidu’s visit to Panama come after the Panamanian government announced new (more liberal) visa requirements for tourists from India. The decision to offer the tourist visas is likely to have a positive effect on tourism and trade, explained Varela. 

Varela’s meeting with Naidu is part of a larger foreign policy goal of strengthening Panama’s ties with emerging markets in Asian and the Middle East. 

"India is the fifth largest economy and the second most populated country in the world. India’s success is linked to its rich culture and its commitment to entrepreneurship, science, innovation, technology and a highly-qualified workforce," Varela said during the press conference. 

During their closing words Naidu thanked the Panamanian government for liberalizing its visa requirements for Indian citizens. Furthermore the Vice President of India commended the Panama for its “economic dynamism”.