{"id":13646,"date":"2026-05-29T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=13646"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:23:43","slug":"panama-president-mulino-travels-to-greece-over-china-ship-detentions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panama-president-mulino-travels-to-greece-over-china-ship-detentions\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama President Mulino Travels to Greece Over China Ship Detentions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panama’s President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino announced he will travel to Greece this Friday. He aims to address growing concerns over the detention of Panamanian-flagged vessels in Chinese ports. The trip comes amid rising tensions in the maritime sector. Mulino will participate in a major international maritime fair. He also plans high-level meetings with Greek authorities and shipowners. Greece stands as one of the world’s largest players in shipping and a top user of the Panama Ship Registry<\/a>. The president’s agenda focuses on maritime and logistics issues. He wants to reassure the global shipping community about Panama’s flag reliability. Recent months have seen a spike in inspections and detentions of Panamanian ships in Chinese ports.<\/p>\n

Building Trust in Panama’s Maritime Registry<\/h2>\n

“We are going to face the Greek government directly about what is happening,” Mulino said. “We aim to strengthen confidence in the Panamanian flag registry.” [Translated from Spanish] The president will meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He will also sit down with Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas. Meetings with port authorities and major shipping companies are also scheduled. The Greek Shipping Industry<\/a> represents a critical partner for Panama. Greek shipowners operate a significant portion of the world’s merchant fleet. Many choose to register their vessels under the Panamanian flag. Panama’s ship registry remains one of the largest globally. It serves as a strategic pillar for the country’s economy and maritime influence. The recent Chinese crackdown has alarmed international shipping firms.<\/p>\n

\"COSCO
By kees torn – COSCO SHIPPING HIMALAYAS 8-9-2017, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=63578488<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diplomatic Efforts with China<\/h2>\n

Mulino described a recent meeting between Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Mart\u00ednez-Acha and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as “transcendental.” The talks took place at the United Nations Security Council in New York. According to Mulino, the meeting opens the door for negotiations. Panama hopes to renew the most-favored-nation agreement for maritime transport between the two countries. The current situation threatens the competitiveness of the Panamanian flag. Mart\u00ednez-Acha explained that discussions focused on maritime issues. “We respect technical criteria, but we want a predictable practice of mutual respect,” he stated. [Translated from Spanish] The foreign minister insisted Panama maintains rigorous standards in its merchant marine. He noted that the increase in detentions has not been replicated in other Asian ports. Similar technical supervision criteria apply across the region. Mart\u00ednez-Acha rejected any ideological motivation behind Panama’s position. “There is no ideological motivation and Panama does not follow any foreign pressure from any country in its foreign policy,” he affirmed. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

Broader Economic and Diplomatic Context<\/h2>\n

Mulino’s mission also seeks to expand Greek presence in other strategic areas. These include logistics, investment, aviation and tourism. A Panamanian delegation will include representatives from the multi-logistics and business sectors. “Greece has been faithful to Panama in its flagging and ship registration,” Mulino said. “It is not just about saving the Panamanian registry, but giving confidence to its users.” [Translated from Spanish] The trip occurs within a delicate geopolitical context. Tensions between the United States and China have created ripple effects across global trade. Panama has worked to maintain neutral diplomatic and commercial positions. The Panamanian government insists its decisions respond to the Constitution and national interests. Officials aim to prevent international tensions from affecting the stability of the naval registry. The registry provides substantial revenue for the country.<\/p>\n

\"Panama
Panama Javier Marti\u0301nez Acha Va\u0301squez and Costa Rica Manuel Tovar by MIRE gob pa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next Steps and Reporting<\/h2>\n

Mulino promised a detailed report next week. He will outline the results of the official tour in Greece. The report will cover conversations with authorities and international shipping representatives. The situation highlights the complex dynamics of global shipping. Panama’s registry competes with other flags for international business. Maintaining trust among shipowners remains essential for the country’s maritime sector. The outcome of these diplomatic efforts could shape Panama’s maritime future. Shipping companies watch closely as the situation develops. The coming weeks will reveal whether Panama can restore confidence in its flag registry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama’s President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino announced he will travel to Greece this Friday. He aims to address growing concerns over the detention of Panamanian-flagged vessels in Chinese ports. The trip comes amid rising tensions in the maritime sector. Mulino will participate in a major international maritime fair. He also plans high-level meetings with Greek authorities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,29],"tags":[4540,3131,4539,4541],"class_list":["post-13646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business-economy","category-politics-government","tag-china-maritime-tensions","tag-panama-president-mulino-travels","tag-panama-ship-detentions","tag-panama-ship-detentions-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13647,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646\/revisions\/13647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}