Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said he had instructed diplomats at the Central American country’s embassy in Beijing to submit the required 90-day notice of withdrawal from the memorandum of understanding signed in 2017.
“I do not know what was the intention of those who signed this agreement with China. What has it brought to Panama all these years? What are the great things that this Belt and Road Initiative has brought to the country?” Mulino said at a press conference.
“So, no [we will not participate],” he added. “This is a decision I have made.”
Apart from a tender for a canal bridge, won in 2018 by China Harbour Engineering Company, a state-owned company, Beijing is not directly involved in the venture. However, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports in 2021 won the right to operate two ports at the canal’s Atlantic and Pacific exits.
