US Secretary Rubio Meets with Panamanian President Mulino
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama, welcoming Panama’s decision to let its participation in China’s global infrastructure plan expire, calling it “a great step forward.”
“Yesterday’s announcement by President @JoseRaulMulino that Panama will allow its participation in the CCP’s belt and road initiative to expire is a great step forward for US-Panama relations, a free Panama Canal, and another example of @POTUS leadership to protect our national security and deliver prosperity for the American people,” Rubio posted on X after departing the country.
The U.S. Department of State reported on Feb. 2nd, 2025, that after talks Panama’s president José Raúl Mulino said his country’s broad agreement to contribute to the Chinese initiative could even be terminated early.
Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the audit could provide a way to "unwind the concessions".
“That provides more legal framework for Panama to wiggle out of the concessions and for Panama to reopen them such that an American or European company might come in and win the bid,” Berg said.
The Guardian reports that Rubio, speaking to reporters after landing in San Salvador on the next leg of his Latin American trip, called Mulino "a friend to the US", and Panama a strong partner and ally. Elaborating that his visit had achieved “potentially really good things" and that “We [the US] do not want to have a hostile or negative relationship with Panama.”
In the meeting, Secretary Rubio and President Mulino spoke of their collaborative efforts to end the hemisphere’s illegal migration crisis. "President Mulino has offered his support of a joint repatriation program, which has reduced illegal migration through the Darien Gap," writes Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
The Secretary of State also spoke to "improving the investment climate" and "ensuring a level playing field for fair competition by U.S. firms".
The meeting ended with Secretary Rubio expressing gratitude for the productive discussion. He noted that the meeting would mark "an important step in reinvigorating the strategic relationship between the United States and Panama."
Sources:
US DEPT. OF STATE
The Guardian
