Eduardo González Yesterday, King Felipe VI attended the inauguration of the new president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, with whom he previously held a bilateral meeting in which he expressed his concern about the humanitarian crisis in the Darién, a jungle region that connects Panama with Colombia. and through which almost 200,000 Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, Haitian and Colombian refugees and migrants have passed in the last six months. The Monarch arrived in Panama City on Sunday accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo, to attend Mulino's inauguration. Upon his arrival, the King was received at the Panama Pacifico International Airport by the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Janaima Tenawey and by the ambassador of Spain in this country, Guzmán Palacios. In the afternoon, Felipe VI was received at the Las Garzas Palace by the outgoing president, Laurentino Cortizo, in the presence of Albares, Sumelzo and the ambassador of Spain, and later attended, at the Las Garzas Palace, the dinner offered by Cortizo in honor of the heads of State and Government invited to the events of transmission of the Presidential Command. Yesterday's day, Monday, began with a meeting between the King and the incoming president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, just before the ceremony of the transfer of power, which was also attended by Albares and Sumelzo and the new Panamanian ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, Culture and Commerce and Industries and the Vice Minister of Foreign Policy. Precisely, Albares took advantage of his stay to hold a first meeting with his new counterpart from Panama, Javier Martínez Acha, with whom he agreed to "work together in this new stage to continue deepening Spain-Panama relations, and our cooperation in the Ibero-American Community," as stated by the minister through the X network. Martínez Acha plans to travel to Spain on July 15 to participate in a business event organized by the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB). During the meeting, the King and Mulino agreed on the importance of deepening cooperation agreements and promoting cultural ties between Panama and Spain and addressed measures to mitigate climate change and encourage private sector investments, according to local media. In addition, Felipe VI conveyed to the Panamanian president his concern about the humanitarian crisis in Darién. More than 196,000 Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, Haitian and Colombian migrants and refugees have crossed the so-called Darien Gap in the first six months of 2024, one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world, to try to reach the United States. Mulino, who visited the area last week, has promised that he will close this border to deter the nearly a thousand migrants who cross it every day and NGOs have denounced the actions of the mafias that traffic in human beings. For his part, President Mulino spoke with the King about the implementation of strategies to ensure the quality and availability of water in the Panama Canal and showed Panama's interest in learning from Spain's experience in metro and railway systems, which They could serve as a reference for the construction of the Panama-David Train, an emblematic work of his administration. After this meeting, the King received in audience a representation of the Spanish community and attended the inauguration ceremonies of Mulino, which was also attended by the presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves; Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; and Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and the Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceño. Don Felipe already attended the inauguration of Cortizo five years ago, when he was already King, and he also attended as Prince of Asturias in those of Ricardo Martinelli (2009), Martín Torrijos (2004) and Mireya Moscoso (1999).
