On Thursday, December 7, an agreement was signed between Panama and China which involved a 2018 feasibility study looking at the construction of a rail link to the Costa Rican border. The agreement was signed by Luis Miguel Hincapie, in charge of Panama’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.
According to a qcostarica.com article, with the signing of this agreement China confirms that “it will grant the financing and the feasibility study for the rail project of the Republic of Panama.” Both governments indicated the need to accelerate the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between both nations, which should be completed by the first half of 2018.
Panama opened diplomatic relations with China last June. Months later, in November, President Juan Carlos Varela met with his counterpart Xi Jinping, and from these meetings, a series of trade, economic and cooperation agreements were signed between both nations.
