Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino announced today the country's withdrawal from China's "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative, days after a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
President Mulino, who previously indicated that he would not renew the agreement with China, said at a press conference today that the Panamanian embassy in Beijing had presented a document to "announce the country's withdrawal (from the "Belt and Road" - ed.) with 90 days' notice."
After meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, President Mulino announced that he would wait for the agreement to expire (for the country's participation in the Chinese initiative), signed by Panama in 2017 by then-President Juan Carlos Varela.
The agreement is automatically renewed every three years and states that "it can be terminated by either party" with three months' notice.
"I don't know what motivated Juan Carlos Varela, who signed the agreement with China at the time," said Mulino, expressing doubt about the country's benefits from the agreement.
On Monday, Marco Rubio called Panama's decision not to renew the agreement with China a "big step" in strengthening the country's relations with Washington.