The Consulate General of the Republic of Panama in Kobe with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Panama in Japan celebrated a dinner event in commemoration of the 120th years of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Panama and Japan.

At the beginning of the meeting, everyone held a moment of silence for the victims of the Noto peninsula earthquake.

Following this and with the presence of more than 40 shipping companies from Western Japan the event continued with a promotional video of the Panama Maritime Authority praising the relationship of Panama with Osaka and Kobe.

Subsequently, Mr., Victor Almengor, Consul General of Panama in Kobe gave a speech in Japanese highlighting the importance of Western Japan and specially the Kansai region to Panama and listing a series of cooperative activities and agreements between entities of Panama and Kansai during the past four years.

H.E. Tsutomo Himeno, Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Kansai expressed that Japan has “a friendly and strong relationship with Panama”.

Finally, H.E. Carlos Pere, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to Japan said in his speech “The ties between the two countries have flourished in various fields, and trade and investment have played an important role in strengthening the economic cooperation between our two countries”.

The toast was delivered by Hiroyuki Matsushita, chairman and CEO of SWIFT XI and former racing driver and grandson of the late Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic Corporation who expressed their experience with Panama and wished many more years of prosperity for both countries.

The event included a cultural presentation about the “diablitos sucios” culture in Panama, the Panamanian national dress worn by the Ambassador’s and Consul General’s wives and a tourism promotional video from Visiting Panama