On the picture Tatiana and H.E. Willys Delvalle at the National Day of Panama.
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
On 21 November 2017, The Ambassador of the Republic of Panama, H.E. Willys Delvalle and Mrs Tatiana Delvalle, invited fellow ambassadors, members of the business community, Dutch civil servants, friends of Panama, the Panamanian community, representatives of the International organisations and various others to come to Hotel Marriott in The Hague to celebrate Panama’s 114th year of Independence with him.
For additional Marian van Noort’s pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157691790557165
It was an exuberant gathering witch included an ongoing video presentation of Panama accompanied by (appropriate) Panamanian music. Tatiana, the spouse of Ambassador Devalle dazzled in a handmade Pollera Panameña, Panama’s national dress. Absolutely Superb. La Pollera Panameña has won several international awards.
A major take-away from Ambassador Willys Delvalle’s speech is that Panama is moving full steam ahead, not only as a country but also in the region and beyond.
The slogan The Great Connection stands among other factors for the expansion of the infrastructure pertaining to the canal. The following are extracts of the Ambassador’s speech.
“We are very thankful to the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the support and cooperation they have given and the interest they have always shown for our Country. We are also very honored that our President, His Excellency Juan Carlos Varela, entrusted us with leading this Mission in the Netherlands and to further work with the Kingdom to elevate the level of friendship and trust.
Our country has been working very hard in several key areas and sectors, building a future of opportunities for our people, developing a Government Plan that is in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and which is supported by a Strategic Plan of Public Investments totaling more than 20 billion dollars in areas such as health, education, security, logistical infrastructure and housing, this will allow us to have the platform in order to achieve the goals that we as a country need for the future.
We all have heard of the Panama Canal and the recent expansion project. Well, the Expanded Canal has in one and a half year of operations surpassed even the most ambitious expectations, with over 2,000 Neopanamax vessels successfully transiting and generating revenues in excess of $1.5 billion dollars. The Panamax and Neopanamax locks combined transits have just reached a record milestone of 403.8 million tons of cargo. It is the most tonnage ever managed by the Canal since its inauguration 103 years ago.
We see a great future for Panama with the implementation of the National Logistics Strategy under the 2030 vision, with the main objective: to provide the Panama Logistics System and its “players” with a Long-Term Shared Vision of turning Panama into one of the best World Class Logistics Hubs.
By April 2018, we are expecting to have fully operational our Humanitarian Hub: “the Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance” that already host the headquarters for the United Nations Humanitarian Response Repository (UNHRD) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This will allow us to be able within 24 hours to reach any disaster or crisis area in the Western Hemisphere.
Just around the corner in 2019, we are preparing our country to receive His Holiness Pope Francis to host the most important Religious event, the World Youth Day (WYD), an incredible event that unites and celebrates youth and brings together young people from all over the world for a week. And more things will happen in 2019, when Panama will have the honor to be the next Ibero American capital of Culture an important event that will showcase our culture.
we will have another milestone in 2019, the celebration of 115 years of bilateral relations with the Netherlands….a solid partnership built on a high level of trust, good faith, cooperation and commitment to international principles and values such as the rule of law, the defense of human rights and freedom … all to build a better world… for which Panama makes available its historic commitment for dialogue and mediation.”
Ambassador Willys Delvalle offered his guests a Panamanian lavish lunch including dessert and digestive-rum.
