Panama Seeks India’s Support to Safeguard Panama Canal Neutrality

Panama is pressing India to join as a strategic partner in preserving the neutrality of the Panama Canal, Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha Vasquez said during an official state visit to New Delhi this week, amid heightened global geopolitical tensions over the waterway.

The Minister said Panama’s independent foreign policy and sovereignty are best defended through its own governance record on the canal, citing efficiency, responsibility and secure management over more than two decades since expansion. He noted that shifting global trade patterns, including cargo moving away from the Suez Canal, are increasing the canal’s strategic importance, making neutrality central to Panama’s diplomatic priorities.

Martinez-Acha Vasquez said one of his key objectives during the visit is continued dialogue with India’s external affairs ministry on joining the canal’s neutrality treaty, describing the canal as an international asset that Panama wants respected globally.

Addressing questions on aggressive rhetoric from global powers, including US President Donald Trump, the minister said Panama would respond with facts rather than engage in rhetorical disputes, pointing to the canal’s self-funded expansion as proof of reliability.

While acknowledging the United States as Panama’s primary security partner, he stressed the importance of a broader coalition of nations upholding international law to keep the canal insulated from global polarisation. He named Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia and potentially Mexico as countries already aligned with the neutrality treaty, signaling Panama’s push to expand that circle further with India’s involvement.