Panama is looking to expand its trade and economic ties with Qatar through public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the field of agriculture, such as building hydroponic farms and cattle raising, ambassador Musa Asvat has said.

Despite Panama’s geography and distance from Qatar, the country is “well- structured” and has the capacity to export high-quality products from various sectors, such as the agriculture industry, said Asvat, who stressed that there is a “potential business opportunity” for Panamanian exporters to expand their footprint in Qatar.

According to Asvat, one of the plans of Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo is to open lands for concession and establish agro-farms in the Central American country. This would allow international companies to grow different types of produce and other foods, he emphasised.

“We can offer this opportunity for Qatar to establish food supply chains in Panama; our country is open to provide concessions to companies from Qatar that are interested in investing in the farming industry. We have excellent weather conditions and fertile lands for different types of crops, as well as for cattle growing.

“Panama, as a tropical country, can grow almost anything, so we are extending this investment opportunity for any interested company from Qatar that has plans in the fields of hydroponics or hydroponic farms, as well as direct agricultural projects for concession with the Panamanian government,” Asvat told Gulf Times.

Aside from the agriculture industry, Asvat said Qatar and Panama could benefit from knowledge-sharing in different areas of expertise, citing Qatar’s world-class free port zones and advanced logistics and sea port facilities.

“We are trying to connect Panama’s Colon Free Trade Zone, which is a distribution centre for merchandise to Latin American countries, with Qatar. We aim to connect the expertise of the organisation with Qatar Free Zone Authority (QFZA), so we could interact and learn from each other.

“We plan to talk to the manager of the Colon Free Trade Zone in Panama and schedule a meeting with QFZA, so they can engage, and to have people coming here to show how we manage our free trade zone. We also wish to connect Panama Ports Authority with Hamad Port. This could be a great achievement for both countries,” Asvat pointed out.

During Qatar’s International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) and International Environmental Exhibition (EnviroteQ) 2021, which concludes today (March 27) at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), the Panamanian booth aims to promote the Central American country as a tourist destination, but also as an investment haven that offers a wide range of business opportunities for companies in Qatar, Asvat also said.

Stay Safe!!