Above: Panama President Juan Carlos Varela in Rome (Photo: OP Panama)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Panama President Juan Carlos Varela is on an official visit to Europe this week, with Italy the first stop.
On Thursday, Varela headed to the Vatican for an audience with officials of the Holy See, with an official meeting with Pope Francis scheduled for Friday morning.
Varela will then travel to Spain for talks with Spanish King Felipe VI, Spanish President Mariano Rajoy and several Cabinet ministers.
The Panamanian delegation led by Varela is also slated to hold an investment forum organized by the country’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Spain.
Varela is being accompanied on the trip by First Lady Lorena Castillo de Varela, his children and Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie.
The trip comes a few months after Varela’s predecessor, former President Ricardo Martinelli, made a visit to Europe in the last month of his term.