Panama’s Canal Project Benefits All Americas, Biden Says

Panama’s Canal Project Benefits All Americas, Biden Says

Washington, 20 November 2013 — The United States is smoothing the way for Panamanian citizens and businesspeople to travel between the two countries by welcoming Panama into the Global Entry Program.

Vice President Biden made the announcement November 19 after a meeting with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli at his presidential palace.

Admission into the program means that Panamanians will experience speedier processing as they travel through U.S. ports of call. “Facilitating the flow of people is good for trade, it’s good for tourism, and it’s good for relationships between the countries,” Biden said while on a visit to Panama City. “It’s a reflection of our friendship and our trust in Panama and the Panamanian people.”

The Global Entry Program enrolls travelers in a pre-screening security process that simplifies their entrance procedure upon arrival in the United States.

Biden also expressed U.S. gratitude for the Panamanian initiative to expand the Panama Canal, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The expansion will allow the passage of larger ships carrying more cargo, and is projected to bring an increase in trade throughout the hemisphere.

“The Western Hemisphere is emerging as a region of opportunity,” Biden said. The canal expansion has the potential to invigorate economic activity to make the region “the center of gravity for the world economy.”

Panama can become an “economic bridge” between North and South America, Biden said, predicting opportunities for greater economic integration in transportation, energy and markets.

In a press appearance with Biden, Martinelli said U.S. ports must do their part to realize the projected increase in trade. “It’s necessary for the East Coast ports in the United States to increase their depth to 50 feet [15 meters]” by the anticipated 2015 date of the canal expansion, he said. The Panamanian leader also called on friendly countries to take the longer view and begin planning for further expansion of canal capacity to accommodate ever-increasing capabilities of maritime commerce.

Two members of Congress and several mayors from major U.S. port cities accompanied Biden on the Panamanian trip, an expression of their willingness to meet Martinelli’s challenge and pursue port expansion.

Martinelli’s vision for growth is part of a long-term strategy.

“The United States supports Panama’s long-term ambition to build an economy that rivals Singapore, one where there is fair competition, high standards, the rule of law, and transparent and open markets,” Biden said.

Increased prosperity and increased energy production in the hemisphere can lead to business growth and job creation, Biden said, trends that will lift people out of poverty and expand the middle class. The vice president foresees a future for the Americas that is “secure, middle-class and democratic,” from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America.

Achieving a prosperous and democratic future also requires regional cooperation in security and in stopping illegal trafficking in drugs and weapons. Biden described cooperation between U.S. and Panamanian law enforcement as excellent and approaching a “new peak.”

He praised Panamanian law enforcement for the July 2013 interdiction of weapons being shipped from Cuba to North Korea in a suspected violation of international sanctions. Panama met an international responsibility with that action, Biden said, and contributed to global security.

Biden visited the Panama Canal itself and the work zone where the expansion is being conducted, saying he wanted to witness the work that will be a touchstone for hemispheric economic expansion.

“Two-thirds of everything that passes through the Panama Canal is either coming from or going to the United States of America,” Biden said, praising the 9,500 workers involved in the project. “So when the canal doubles its capacity, the United States has a potential to expand exports at a considerably lower cost and considerably higher volume.”

Biden said the mayors of Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia in his entourage are all inviting President Martinelli to visit their cities in the future. The invitations serve as further evidence that the United States, Panama and the entire hemisphere are “inextricably linked,” he said.

ENDS

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