Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino rejected US President Donald Trump's plan to "take back" the Panama Canal, telling his American counterpart that the key trade route "is and will remain" in the country's hands, the BBC reported.
In his inauguration speech on January 20, Donald Trump said that Panama had violated its pledge to remain neutral, claiming that "China is exploiting the Panama Canal." "American ships are being overcharged and treated unfairly in every way, and it includes the United States Navy. And furthermore, China operates the Panama Canal, and we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama. and we're taking it back."
Mulino said that he rejects Trump's words "completely", adding that no country in the world interferes in the work of their country's administration. The Panama Canal is one of the most important trade routes of the United States. About 40% of all the country's container ships pass through this waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, was built by the United States and is under its control.
In 1977, according to the Torrijos-Carter agreement, the gradual transfer of the canal to Panama was decided, which was completed in 1999. That treaty provided for the canal's neutrality and its availability for world trade. Today, the canal remains a critical route for the global economy and one of the key objects of US interests. After Trump's speech, Mullino wrote on social media: "The canal was not a concession by anyone. It was the result of a generational struggle that culminated in 1999."
