VISIT WITH PRESIDENT LAURENTINO CORTIZO TO TEXAS, UNITED STATES
The tour included the cities of Houston, Irving (Metroplex), Austin and San Antonio, respectively.
July 12-15, 2021
As part of our mission to promote the country as a safe source of investment and home to excellent products for export, we accompanied President H.E. Laurentino Cortizo Cohen on an extensive working tour through the State of Texas, in the United States.
This tour included the cities of Houston, Irving (Metroplex), Austin and San Antonio respectively.
The Texas Mission is focused on this state because it represents one of the largest in the United States and has four large cities, which were specifically selected with the objective of attracting important businessmen to develop commercial events. Texas is the number 1 American State in investment and trade with our country and it generates approximately 2 billion dollars a year in business figures. Many Texas companies have operations in Panama, among which we can mention: Dell Technologies, Halliburton, Chevron, United Airlines, American Airlines, Kimberly Clark, Caterpillar, among others.
Without a doubt, Texas is a promising region to implement more business chains in our country, so the slogan "Panama - Texas: Strategic Partnership", meets the perfect objective and enhances the interest for both ways.
The primary goal we pursued in this mission focused on expanding and solidifying Panama's relations as a direct commercial partner of Texas in the United States. To achieve this plan, specific sectors were defined in which both regions have common interests and thus facilitate negotiations; among these sectors are: maritime, aviation, energy, technology and innovation, finance, education, sports, agriculture-food, telecommunications and infrastructure.
During the course of the visits and presentations we served to select the co-hosts responsible in each of the venue cities, and for each case the most important business entity in that region was placed.
The visit consisted of three business luncheons, in honor of President Cortizo's arrival, in each of the cities: Irving, Austin and Houston.
As final results, two (2) collaboration agreements were officially signed, the first with the Irving Chamber of Commerce and the second with the Greater Houston Partnership. Both memorandums of cooperation are designed to promote joint programs and establish a permanent relationship for the promotion of trade and investment between the parties.
To conclude the mission, additional visits were scheduled to Million Air, one of today's leading FBOs, and to the Port of Houston, where President H.E. Laurentino Cortizo and Panama Canal Minister Aristedes Royo received a replica of the recent agreement signed between the Port of Houston and the Panama Canal, highlighting the possibilities for future growth and collaboration.
