Lawmakers in Panama form Taiwan group

FRIENDSHIP: The exchange group is ‘a step in the right direction’ and marked the beginning of closer ties between the nations, a Panamanian lawmaker said

The Panamanian National Assembly on Tuesday established a friendship group with the Legislative Yuan, a move welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as an opportunity to facilitate bilateral exchanges and advance mutual interests.

The multiparty interparliamentary exchange group was established at an inaugural ceremony at the assembly in Panama City.

Forty-five of the assembly’s 71 lawmakers have joined the group, including National Assembly President Shirley Castanedas and vice presidents Manuel Cohen and Manuel Cheng, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released yesterday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei speaks at a news conference in Taipei in an undated photograph.

Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times

In a congratulatory video message played during the inaugural ceremony, Lin said that Taiwan and Panama share universal values, including democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.

“Through the Taiwan-friendly parliamentary group, we look forward to further deepening parliamentary diplomacy and expanding bilateral cooperation and exchanges, thereby promoting the well-being of both peoples and fostering mutual benefit and shared prosperity,” the ministry quoted Lin as saying in the video.

The ministry said that the group was formed after more than 20 Panamanian lawmakers visited Taiwan over the past six months.

Taiwan and Panama ended formal diplomatic ties in June 2017.

In a separate video message played during the ceremony, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, cochair of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus, congratulated the Panamanian National Assembly on establishing the parliamentary exchange platform, the ministry said.

Panamanian lawmaker Jose Antonio Perez-Barboni said the establishment of a Taiwan-Panama parliamentary exchange group was “a step in the right direction” and marked the beginning of closer economic and trade ties between the two sides.

He said he looked forward to advancing bilateral diplomatic relations.

Another lawmaker, Joan Manuel Guevara, said the formation of the parliamentary exchange group demonstrated that Taiwan and Panama could continue to develop “parliamentary diplomacy” despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

Such cooperation is particularly important as both sides seek to defend their sovereignty and withstand external pressure, Guevara said.

Perez-Barboni and Guevara are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).

Panamanian lawmakers have stepped up parliamentary exchanges with Taiwan over the past two years, with multiple delegations visiting Taiwan.

IPAC members led delegations to Taiwan in November last year and February, while Orlando Carrasquilla, chairman of the Panamanian National Assembly’s Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Affairs, led a delegation to Taiwan in July.

When Perez-Barboni led a delegation to Taiwan in February, he was chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Infrastructure and Canal Affairs.

The itineraries of the delegations, their membership and the lawmakers’ public remarks indicate that Panama has been interested in Taiwan’s technological and economic development, suggesting that parliamentary exchanges between the two sides are increasingly focused on practical cooperation in technology and trade.