Go to content

EVENTS

Event Highlights

“Panama – A Land Beyond Expectations” Seminar

2022-11-30

Co-organized by the Maritime Silk Road Society (MSRS) and Consulate General of Panama in Hong Kong, the “Panama – A Land Beyond Expectations” Seminar was held on 30 November. Mr Jaime Andrés Campuzano, Consul General of the Republic of Panama in Hong Kong; and Mr Rolando Hernández, Chief of Segumar’s Hong Kong office, were the speakers.

Mrs Regina Ip, Convenor of the Executive Council, LegCo Member, Co-chair of MSRS, delivered the welcoming remarks. She firstly thanked the Consul General and Mr Hernández for taking time to give a talk. She mentioned that Panama celebrated two national days in November which also marks the 5th anniversary of Panama joining the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI). Mrs Ip highlighted that Panama Canal is one of the world’s most important channels for maritime trade and Panama is famous for its abundant natural resources, rich biodiversity and high awareness of environmental protection. She anticipated that Panama would be a popular tourist destination as Hong Kong is lifting its travelling restrictions and welcomes the Panamanians to visit Hong Kong.

Mr Joseph Chan, Chairman of Silk Road Economic Development Research Center and Honorary Advisor of MSRS, presented the certificate of appreciation to the speakers.

Located in the world’s intersection, Panama stands as the connective land of the Americas, which explains why the country is also called “the bridge between worlds”. As the first Latin American country to endorse the BRI, China has become Panama’s largest trading partner, which shows strong evidence of increasingly close economic and trading cooperation between China and Panama. The Consul General continued to introduce the multi-faceted nature of Panama – from Panama Canal to biodiversity, culinary, coastlines and beaches between the Pacific, Caribbean and the Atlantic, coffee culture, authentic culture, vibrant city, etc. Therefore, Panama is also known as “the Singapore of Latin America”. The Consul General then gave a brief introduction on the consulate and maritime services they provide while Mr Hernández introduced the services of the Segumar office and things to note about ship registry.

During the presentation, participants actively raised questions about trading and banking business between Hong Kong and Panama and the characteristics of the Chinese community in Panama. To conclude the seminar, the two speakers also shared some travelling tips with participants.

Visit Panama: https://www.tourismpanama.com/

Panama’s Trade & Investment: https://propanama.gob.pa/en/

Segumar: https://panamashipregistry.com/maritime-services/segumar/

< Back