Kanishka Sharma

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, will be traveling to Panama with a delegation next week for a ministerial conference about migration with the government in Panama. The State Department announced Friday.

According to the State Department, Blinken and Panama President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen will be meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It said that they will be discussing economic recovery, immigration, protection for refugees and asylum seekers, as well as anti-corruption efforts and support for civil societies.

The presidents of Panama and Costa Rica, as well as the Dominican Republic, requested U.S. aid to stem the flow of thousands crossing dangerous jungles between Panama and Colombia on their journeys to the United States.

According to data provided by the government to Reuters, a record-breaking number of illegal migrants arrived in Panama from Colombia in 2021. This was due to a surge in mostly Haitians entering the Central American country on their way to the United States.

The State Department stated that the Secretary would draw more attention to the Ninth Summit of the Americas, which will be held in Los Angeles (California) on June 6-10th, 2022, through this trip.