The President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, appointed Vladimir A. Franco Sousa and Yill del Carmen Otero as new Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Vladimir A. Franco Sousa, who has an extensive career in international relations, was appointed by the president as Vice Chancellor of Foreign Relations.
He has a degree in Law and Political Science from the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) and a Master’s Degree in Law with a Specialty in International Law from the Institute of International Relations of the kyiv State University, Taras Shevchenko,
kyiv, Ukraine.
He has a specialty in Public and Private International Law, Human Rights (Inter-American System), International Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Extradition, consular assistance and protection, asylum and refuge.
Franco Sousa speaks 5 languages, including: Spanish, English, Russian, Japanese and German and his professional experience includes the positions of Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Government, 2020-2022 and General Director of Legal Affairs and Treaties, Ministry of Relations Foreign, 2019-2020.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has also been Director General of Legal Affairs and Treaties, Deputy Director General of Foreign Policy, Director of the Department of Europe, and Attaché in the Mission of Panama to the Organization of American States (OEA/OAS), in Washington DC, USA.
International Relations Analyst, General Directorate of Foreign Policy,
Department of Asia, Economic Counselor of the Embassy of Panama in Tokyo, Japan, among others.
On the other hand, Yill del Carmen Otero, has been appointed Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and International Cooperation, replacing Ana Luisa Castro Novey, who submitted her resignation as of next December 1.
Otero is currently Director of International Promotion at the Authority for the Promotion of Exports and Investment Attraction (PROPANAMA).
She has a degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with an emphasis in Business Administration from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA; She has an International Diploma in Governance and Political Management from George Washington University in affiliation with the University of Panama and CAF Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina and at Quality Leadership University she obtained a Diploma in Strategic Management of NGOs.
In PROPANAMA she served as Promoter of Foreign Investments, Head of International Fairs and General Director of Export Promotion of the Vice Ministry of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
She has also been Associate in Coordination and Inter-Agency Coordination Officer of the United Nations in Panama and Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
