# Foreign relations of Panama

Panama's foreign relations are conventional in outlook, with Panama being especially aligned with United States since the 1989 US invasion to topple the regime of General Manuel Noriega. The United States cooperates with the Panamanian government in promoting economic, political, security, and social development through U.S. and international agencies.

## Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Panama maintains diplomatic relations with:
Date :
| 1 | United States | 13 November 1903 |
| 2 | France | 18 November 1903 |
| 3 | Russia | 21 November 1903 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 29 December 1903 |
| 5 | Japan | 7 January 1904 |
| 6 | Italy | 15 January 1904 |
| — | Venezuela (suspended) | 3 February 1904 |
| 7 | Chile | 1 March 1904 |
| 8 | Cuba | 7 April 1904 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 6 April 1904 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 20 April 1904 |
| 11 | Spain | 10 May 1904 |
| 12 | Portugal | 21 May 1904 |
| 13 | Uruguay | 28 October 1904 |
| 14 | Honduras | 18 September 1907 |
| 15 | Belgium | 15 February 1908 |
| 16 | Peru | 2 March 1908 |
| 17 | Brazil | 3 March 1908 |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 9 April 1908 |
| 19 | Ecuador | 1 September 1908 |
| 20 | El Salvador | 9 March 1909 |
| 21 | Argentina | 5 November 1920 |
| 22 | Mexico | 29 May 1923 |
| — | Holy See | 21 September 1923 |
| 23 | Colombia | 9 July 1924 |
| 24 | Czech Republic | 25 March 1929 |
| 25 | Guatemala | 25 January 1937 |
| 26 | Dominican Republic | 17 March 1937 |
| 27 | Sweden | 3 July 1937 |
| 28 | Denmark | 30 July 1937 |
| 29 | Norway | 31 July 1937 |
| 30 | Nicaragua | 13 December 1938 |
| 31 | Bolivia | 28 August 1942 |
| 32 | Paraguay | 31 October 1942 |
| 33 | Haiti | 11 October 1945 |
| 34 | Lebanon | 30 April 1946 |
| — | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 2 August 1948 |
| 35 | Turkey | 14 April 1950 |
| 36 | Germany | 17 December 1951 |
| 37 | Serbia | 26 March 1953 |
| 38 | Austria | 18 October 1955 |
| 39 | Greece | 17 May 1956 |
| 40 | Egypt | 21 February 1958 |
| 41 | Madagascar | 20 September 1960 |
| 42 | Canada | 11 August 1961 |
| 43 | India | 1 July 1962 |
| 44 | South Korea | 30 September 1962 |
| 45 | Jamaica | 18 August 1966 |
| 46 | Ethiopia | 17 August 1967 |
| 47 | Pakistan | 7 November 1967 |
| 48 | Cyprus | 1 April 1971 |
| 49 | Romania | 5 October 1971 |
| 50 | Bangladesh | 5 June 1972 |
| 51 | Algeria | 9 February 1973 |
| 52 | Guyana | 16 March 1973 |
| 53 | Bulgaria | 29 March 1973 |
| 54 | Libya | 29 March 1973 |
| 55 | Guinea | 29 March 1973 |
| 56 | Poland | 15 August 1973 |
| 57 | Philippines | 28 September 1973 |
| 58 | Guinea-Bissau | 16 October 1973 |
| 59 | Australia | 20 February 1974 |
| 60 | Grenada | 18 November 1974 |
| 61 | Iran | 7 January 1975 |
| 62 | Bahrain | 27 February 1975 |
| 63 | Hungary | 5 August 1975 |
| 64 | Vietnam | 28 August 1975 |
| 65 | Syria | 17 February 1976 |
| 66 | Finland | 19 February 1976 |
| 67 | Malta | 19 February 1976 |
| 68 | Sri Lanka | 8 March 1976 |
| 69 | Kuwait | 23 March 1976 |
| 70 | Iraq | 8 June 1976 |
| 71 | Israel | 18 June 1976 |
| 72 | Morocco | 15 February 1977 |
| 73 | Albania | 20 August 1978 |
| 74 | Indonesia | 27 March 1979 |
| 75 | Suriname | 1 May 1979 |
| — | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (suspended) | 1 June 1979 |
| 76 | Equatorial Guinea | 13 May 1981 |
| 77 | Belize | 1 December 1981 |
| 78 | Myanmar | 15 July 1982 |
| 79 | Singapore | 6 August 1982 |
| 80 | Thailand | 20 August 1982 |
| 81 | Barbados | 3 March 1983 |
| 82 | Nepal | 15 February 1984 |
| 83 | Luxembourg | 12 November 1985 |
| 84 | Senegal | 27 August 1987 |
| 85 | Sudan | 13 September 1988 |
| 86 | Angola | 16 February 1989 |
| 87 | Maldives | 19 February 1989 |
| 88 | Ghana | 24 February 1989 |
| 89 | Bahamas | 1 May 1991 |
| 90 | Lithuania | 19 November 1992 |
| 91 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 19 November 1992 |
| 92 | Moldova | 15 February 1993 |
| 93 | Slovakia | 15 February 1993 |
| 94 | United Arab Emirates | 9 March 1993 |
| 95 | New Zealand | 22 March 1993 |
| 96 | Seychelles | 21 May 1993 |
| 97 | Ukraine | 21 May 1993 |
| 98 | Malaysia | 24 July 1993 |
| 99 | Jordan | 7 February 1994 |
| 100 | Oman | 25 February 1994 |
| 101 | Latvia | 22 March 1994 |
| 102 | Trinidad and Tobago | 24 May 1994 |
| 103 | South Africa | 10 January 1995 |
| 104 | Estonia | 13 January 1995 |
| 105 | Azerbaijan | 6 April 1995 |
| 106 | Slovenia | 10 May 1995 |
| 107 | Saint Lucia | 10 July 1995 |
| 108 | Kazakhstan | 28 July 1995 |
| 109 | Cambodia | 15 February 1996 |
| 110 | Papua New Guinea | 5 March 1996 |
| 111 | Brunei | 28 March 1996 |
| 112 | Croatia | 12 July 1996 |
| 113 | Andorra | 16 July 1996 |
| 114 | Antigua and Barbuda | 27 September 1996 |
| 115 | Armenia | 7 August 1998 |
| 116 | Belarus | 22 October 1998 |
| 117 | Georgia | 18 November 1998 |
| 118 | Iceland | 4 June 1999 |
| 119 | Nigeria | 12 February 2001 |
| 120 | Ireland | 14 February 2001 |
| 121 | Qatar | 8 February 2002 |
| 122 | North Macedonia | 18 April 2002 |
| 123 | Namibia | April 2002 |
| 124 | Afghanistan | 3 May 2002 |
| 125 | San Marino | 22 January 2004 |
| 126 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 31 March 2004 |
| 127 | Benin | 20 September 2005 |
| 128 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 17 July 2006 |
| 129 | Tunisia | 15 June 2007 |
| 130 | Montenegro | 29 May 2008 |
| 131 | Burkina Faso | 29 July 2009 |
| 132 | Botswana | 15 December 2009 |
| 133 | Djibouti | 15 December 2009 |
| 134 | Monaco | 22 November 2010 |
| 135 | Cameroon | 14 August 2011 |
| 136 | Liechtenstein | 3 January 2012 |
| 137 | Mongolia | 17 January 2012 |
| 138 | Dominica | 13 March 2012 |
| 139 | Palau | 18 April 2012 |
| 140 | Solomon Islands | 11 September 2012 |
| 141 | Fiji | 9 November 2012 |
| — | Kosovo | 28 August 2013 |
| 142 | Saudi Arabia | 14 January 2015 |
| 143 | Turkmenistan | 24 July 2015 |
| 144 | Ivory Coast | 29 April 2016 |
| 145 | China | 12 June 2017 |
| 146 | Tajikistan | 26 May 2018 |
| 147 | Togo | 26 March 2019 |
| 148 | Kenya | 26 September 2019 |
| 149 | Cape Verde | 9 April 2021 |
| 150 | Laos | 9 September 2021 |
| 151 | Kyrgyzstan | 24 September 2021 |
| 152 | Uzbekistan | 29 November 2021 |
| 153 | Timor-Leste | 20 September 2022 |
| 154 | Federated States of Micronesia | 20 September 2022 |
| 155 | Mauritania | 22 September 2022 |
| 156 | Rwanda | 18 September 2023 |
| 157 | Uganda | 22 September 2023 |
| 158 | Vanuatu | 21 November 2023 |
| 159 | Zimbabwe | 28 December 2023 |
| 160 | Kiribati | 30 January 2024 |
| — | Cook Islands | 8 March 2024 |
| 161 | Marshall Islands | 23 September 2024 |
| 162 | Zambia | 24 September 2024 |
| 163 | Somalia | 20 January 2025 |

## Bilateral relations

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Armenia | 7 August 1998 | |
| Belgium | 15 February 1908 | Belgium has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Brussels and a consulate-general in Antwerp. |
| Canada | 11 August 1961 | See Canada–Panama relations Canada has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Ottawa and consulates-general in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. |
| China | 2 January 1909 | See China–Panama relations and Panama–Taiwan relations. Panama established a diplomatic relationship with the Qing dynasty in 1909. After the Xinhai Revolution, Panama recognized the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC), and retained diplomatic ties with the ROC until 2017. According to diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, in 2009, after President Ricardo Martinelli took office, Panama wished to switch diplomatic relations from the ROC to the People's Republic of China (PRC). This was rejected by the PRC, which did not want to disrupt its improving diplomatic relations with the ROC during the ROC Presidency of Ma Ying-jeou. On June 12, 2017, President Juan Carlos Varela announced that Panama has established a diplomatic relationship with People's Republic of China, and Panama has severed diplomatic relationship with the Republic of China (Taiwan). China has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Beijing and consulates-general in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai. |
| Chile | 1 March 1908 | Chile has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Santiago and a consulate-general in Valparaíso. |
| Colombia | 9 July 1924 | See Colombia–Panama relations Colombia has an embassy in Panama City and consulates in Colón, Jaqué and Puerto Obaldía. Panama has an embassy in Bogotá and a consulate-general in Barranquilla. |
| Costa Rica | 29 December 1903 | See Costa Rica–Panama relations Panama has an embassy in San José. Costa Rica has an embassy in Panama City and a consulate in David. |
| France | 18 November 1903 | France has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Paris and a consulate-general in Marseille. |
| India | 1 June 1962 | See India–Panama relations Panama is the first country in Central America where India established a resident embassy in 1973. Bilateral commercial and trade relations are steadily growing between India and Panama, with Panama seen as the gateway for expansion into Latin America. India has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in New Delhi and a consulate-general in Mumbai. |
| Kosovo | 27 August 2013 | Panama officially recognised the independence of the Republic of Kosovo on 16 January 2009. Kosovo and Panama established diplomatic relations on 27 August 2013, following the establishment of diplomatic relations Kosovo announced it would be opening an embassy in Panama and that this embassy would be Kosovo's 'gateway to Latin America'. Kosovo has an embassy in Panama City. Both countries enjoy excellent relationships. |
| Mexico | 29 May 1923 | See Mexico–Panama relations Mexico has an embassy in Panama City. Panama has an embassy in Mexico City and a consulate-general in Veracruz City. |
| Peru | 2 March 1908 | Main article: Panama–Peru relations Panama has an embassy in Lima. Peru has an embassy in Panama City. |
| Russia | 21 November 1903 | See Panama–Russia relations Panama has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Panama city. |
| Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 1 June 1979 | See Panama–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations Panama was the first Latin American country on recognizing the SADR in 1978, during the military rule of Omar Torrijos. Panama also has the oldest Sahrawi embassy in Latin America. Relations were suspended from 20 November 2013 to 7 January 2016;. |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2006 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on July 17, 2006. Both countries are full members of the Organization of American States. |
| Serbia | 1953 | Both countries have established diplomatic relations in 1953. A number of bilateral agreements have been concluded and are in force between both countries. |
| South Africa | 1995 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 January 1995. Panama has an embassy Pretoria. South Africa is accredited to Panama from its embassy in Lima, Peru. |
| South Korea | 30 September 1962 | See Panama–South Korea relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on Sep 30, 1962. Panama has an embassy in Seoul. South Korea has an embassy in Panama City. |
| Spain | 10 May 1904 | See Panama–Spain relations Panama has an embassy in Madrid and consulates-general in A Coruña, Barcelona, Las Palmas and Valencia. Spain has an embassy in Panama City. |
| Thailand | 20 August 1982 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 20 August 1982. Panama has an embassy in Bangkok. Thailand is accredited to Panama from its embassy in Santiago, Chile. |
| Turkey | April 14, 1950 | See Panama–Turkey relations Panama has an embassy in Ankara. Turkey has an embassy in Panama. Trade volume between the two countries was US$260.9 million in 2019 (Panamanian exports/imports: 12.1/248.8 million USD). |
| United Kingdom | 9 April 1908 | See Foreign relations of the United Kingdom The UK established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 9 April 1908. Panama maintains an embassy in London. The United Kingdom is accredited to Panama from its embassy in Panama City. Both countries share common membership of the World Trade Organization, as well as the Central America–UK Trade Continuity Agreement. Bilaterally the two countries have an investment agreement. |
| United States | 13 November 1903 3 April 1964 | See Panama–United States relations The United States cooperates with the Panamanian government in promoting economic, political, security, and social development through U.S. and international agencies. Cultural ties between the two countries are strong, and many Panamanians go to the United States for higher education and advanced training. In 2007, the U.S. and Panama partnered to launch a regional health worker training center. The center provides training to community healthcare workers in Panama and throughout Central America. About 25,000 American citizens reside in Panama, many retirees from the Panama Canal Commission and individuals who hold dual nationality. There is also a rapidly growing enclave of American retirees in the Chiriqui Province in western Panama. Panama has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates-general in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia and Tampa. United States has an embassy in Panama City. |
| Uruguay | 28 October 1904 | See Panama–Uruguay relations Panama has an embassy in Montevideo. Uruguay has an embassy in Panama City. |
| Venezuela | 1717 | See Panama–Venezuela relations |

## Multilateral relations

Panama is a member of the UN General Assembly (and most major UN agencies) and has served three terms in the UN Security Council. In November 2006, it was elected to serve a two-year term on the Security Council, beginning January 1, 2007. It maintains membership in several international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Panama is a member of the Organization of American States and was a founding member of the Rio Group. Although it was suspended from the Latin American Economic System — known informally both as the Group of Eight and the Rio Group — in 1988 due to its internal political system under Manuel Noriega, Panama was readmitted in September, 1994 as an acknowledgment of its present democratic credentials.
Panama is also one of the founding members of the Union of Banana Exporting Countries and belongs to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Panama is a member of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) as well as the Central American Integration System (SICA). Panama joined its six Central American neighbors at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
Panama is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).