SCA Head meets with Panama Ambassador to discuss cooperation, facilitate trade

Cairo – February 12, 2025: The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is strengthening its partnership with Panama to enhance maritime and logistics services, as Chairman Osama Rabie welcomed Panama’s Ambassador to Egypt, Ricardo Isaza, at the authority’s headquarters in Ismailia for discussions on potential cooperation.

This meeting marked Isaza’s first official engagement with the SCA since assuming his role.

Rabie highlighted the significance of collaboration amid global geopolitical and environmental challenges affecting maritime transport. He reaffirmed the SCA’s dedication to working with international partners to boost operational efficiency and facilitate trade.

Both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal serve as critical arteries for global trade, facilitating the movement of goods, energy, and essential supplies between continents. However, in recent years, these key maritime routes have faced significant disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and climate-related risks.

Rabie highlighted the SCA’s recent efforts to enhance its service offerings, including ship maintenance and repairs, pollution control, waste removal, and crew changes.

He also underscored Egypt’s commitment to boosting marine tourism, citing the Suez Canal Yacht Marina in Ismailia as a model for sustainable yacht facilities that meet international standards. These initiatives align with Egypt’s broader strategy to establish itself as a regional hub for yacht tourism.

Ambassador Isaza praised the long-standing relationship between Panama and the SCA, expressing a strong interest in expanding collaboration. He proposed joint initiatives focused on logistics and marketing services, particularly in promoting marine tourism and the SCA’s yacht marina facilities.

Following the meeting, Rabie presented Isaza with the New Suez Canal shield in recognition of the continued partnership between the two sides.

Both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal serve as critical arteries for global trade, facilitating the movement of goods, energy, and essential supplies between continents. However, in recent years, these key maritime routes have faced significant disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and climate-related risks.

In 2024, the Suez Canal saw major traffic disruptions as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea forced shipping companies to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding significant costs and delays.

Meanwhile, the Panama Canal was heavily impacted by a severe drought in 2023, leading to restrictions on vessel transits due to lower water levels, further straining global supply chains all the way into 2024.

These challenges have driven up operational costs, disrupted energy and food shipments, and worsened food security risks in vulnerable economies.

The need for longer alternative routes has increased port congestion, fuel consumption, crew wages, and insurance premiums, while also raising piracy risks and greenhouse gas emissions.

By mid-2024, rerouting away from the Red Sea and the Panama Canal led to a 3 percent rise in global vessel demand and a 12 percent increase in container ship demand, according to UNCTAD data.