Chilean Investors Show Interest in Panama Infrastructure

During President José Raúl Mulino official visit to Chile, the Minister for Canal Affairs and Secretary of Presidential Goals, José Ramón Icaza , held a series of meetings with businessmen and representatives of the Chilean private sector to exchange views on infrastructure, logistics and economic cooperation.

The agenda was developed before Mulino's participation as a guest in the inauguration of President-elect José Antonio Kast, scheduled for Wednesday, March 11.

One of the first meetings, the Presidency reported, was with former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle , current president of the Infrastructure Policy Council (CPI), an organization that brings together companies, trade associations, universities and specialists dedicated to analyzing and promoting infrastructure projects in that country.

Also participating in the meeting were COPSA President and former Minister Gloria Hutt , CPI Executive Director and former Minister Carlos Cruz , as well as other members of the organization's board of directors. During the meeting, they analyzed the experiences of the Chilean model of concessions and public-private partnerships (PPPs), considered one of the most developed in the region.

Icaza raised the possibility of moving towards a framework cooperation agreement with the CPI that would allow for reviewing and strengthening the Panamanian infrastructure model, taking the Chilean experience as a reference.

The minister also met with executives from Empresa CPT and Grupo Empresas Navieras , companies linked to the maritime business that provide tugboat leasing services to the Panama Canal.

According to the Presidency, the conversation addressed the projects promoted by the Panama Canal Authority and the opportunities they generate for the logistics sector.

The Canal development plans and other government initiatives also sparked the interest of the president of the Confederation of Production and Commerce, Susana Jiménez, with whom Icaza held another meeting during his official agenda in Chile.

At that meeting, the Chilean business sector emphasized its intention to move forward with the memorandum of understanding signed with the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama to strengthen trade ties and promote new investments between the two countries. The agreement was signed during the economic forum organized by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama in January 2026.

As part of the agenda, Icaza also participated alongside Minister Felipe Chapman in a meeting with the president of Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores, Óscar Hasbún, who recently joined the International Advisory Board of the Panama Canal.

During the meeting, they exchanged views on the future of maritime transport, the evolution of the logistics sector, global supply chains and the impact of Chilean exports, as well as Panama's role as a logistics hub for trade on the continent.