Panama officially withdraws from China’s Belt Infrastructure Program, President Jose Raul Murino on Thursday said that pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration is growing to curb China’s growing influence on the Panama Canal. This has been announced.
The Panama president further said the country has already given 90-day statutory notices through embassy to Beijing.
The notice identifies Panama’s decision not to renew its involvement in the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Also Read | Donald Trump taking Panama Canal: “What’s so powerful going on”
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a strategic Chinese project that seeks to connect Africa and Europe through land and maritime networks to strengthen regional integration, increase trade and stimulate economic growth. is.
The BRI consists of the economic belt of the Silk Road. This is a transcontinental passageway that connects China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe by land.
Read Also | Rubio watches deportation flights in Panama as Trump prioritizes immigrant crackdown
This indicates a major change in Panama’s foreign policy, as BRI was a key aspect of the country’s infrastructure development strategy under its previous management.
The President of Panama has denied doing business related to us
Previously, Panama President Jose Raul Murino denied claims that the US State Department had reached a deal that allowed US warships to pass the Panama Canal for free.
Murino told the U.S. Secretary of Defense on Wednesday he was surprised by a statement from the US State Department that suggested that no one could set a fee to pass the canal or exempt anyone, and that it wasn’t later Wednesday. I did it.
Read again | “45km walk down dangerous hills”: Indians caught up in the US border and deported
“I will completely and absolutely reject that statement yesterday,” Murino said at weekly press conferences, adding that he had directed Washington’s Panama Ambassador to challenge the U.S. State Department statement.
The US State Department “really shocks me because it makes important institutional statements by entities that implement US foreign policy within the authority of the US President on false grounds. That’s unacceptable.”
(Includes AFP input)
