The Canal has grown in Panamanian hands!
Panama City, Dec 31 (EFE). –
Panama’s president, Jose Raul Mulino, said Tuesday on the 25th anniversary of the canal’s handover that the interoceanic route “hasn’t stopped growing” since it became Panama’s, to which it will belong “forever” to serve the world and the country.
In a speech at the gates of the Canal Administration Building, Mulino also spoke of the current challenges and offered his government’s support for the modernization plans, including a new reservoir that will cost about 1.2 billion dollars.
The 25th anniversary of the canal’s handover comes in the shadow of recent threats by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to demand the waterway’s return, citing high toll costs and alleged Chinese interference in its management.
The Canal was built by the US, which inaugurated it in 1914 and administered it until its transfer to the Panamanian state on Dec. 31, 1999, as stipulated in the Torrijos-Carter Treaties signed in Washington on Sep. 7, 1977, between Panamanian President Omar Torrijos (1929-1981) and US President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024).
The Canal has grown in Panamanian hands
Mulino stressed that since the Canal has been administered by Panama, “it has not stopped growing,” in revenue – it has contributed more than 28.2 billion dollars to the state – and infrastructure, following a first expansion in 2016.
“We have made the Canal ours; we have expanded it and turned it into a key and profitable service for us and the world,” the president declared.
He also assured Panama is “interested in a more connected world, with open trade and exchange of goods between countries.”
The neutrality of the Canal and Panama’s sovereignty
Mulino emphasized the neutrality of the waterway, through which about 3% of the world’s trade passes, assuring that nations “do not fear a canal of a strategic importance like Panama’s will take an active part in any conflict.”
“There are no other hands in our Canal than Panamanian hands. You can be sure that it will remain in our hands forever,” the president affirmed.
He also pointed out that the Panamanian flag flies freely over the Canal thanks to “a high price of struggle and blood” since 1903, the year of Panama’s independence.
A Tribute to Jimmy Carter
Mulino said he felt a mixture of joy and sadness on the 25th anniversary of the canal due to the death of Jimmy Carter on Sunday.
He emphasized that Carter, “together with Omar Torrijos and previous generations, had the vision and nobility to take the right path so that the canal would have the nationality it deserves, Panamanian nationality.” EFE
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