On 23 May 2016, His Excellency Mr. Luis Miguel Hincapie, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama paid a courtesy call on His Excellency Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs and had a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, during his visit to Thailand to chair the First Meeting of Panama’s Ambassadors and Consuls-General in Asia and Africa.  

Both sides had extensive discussions on bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest, including the strengthening of bilateral trade and investment, technical cooperation in the fields of agriculture and logistics as well as the cooperation under the framework of the United Nations. The Panamanian side expressed interest in using Thailand as a gateway to ASEAN, while proposing that Panama serve as a gateway for Thailand to Latin America.

On the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also arranged a meeting between the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama and the President of the Thai National Shippers’ Council in which the Panamanian Vice Minister extended an invitation to the Thai private sector to visit Panama to explore business opportunities between the two countries.

Thailand established diplomatic relations with Panama in 1982, and both countries have always enjoyed cordial ties. In 2015, Panama is Thailand’s 6^th largest trading partner in Latin America, with the total trade value of USD 333.76 million.