"We are the route that unites the continent and the world through the Isthmus of Panama," said President Juan Carlos Varela, in Agua Clara, where the inauguration of the canal's expansion took place, yesterday June 26.
 
Jorge Luis Quijano, the Canal's head administrator, emphasized that the country's goal is that the expanded logistics center here benefit the entire region, PL reported.
 
During the inauguration ceremony, President Varela greeted Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and thanked him for Cuba's presence at the event.
 
The participating in the Cuban delegation were Deputy Foreign Minister Ana Teresita González Fraga, and the country's ambassador in Panama Antonio Miguel Pardo Sánchez., who joined more than 2,000 guests from 62 countries, including several heads of state, such as Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Luis Guillermo Solís (Costa Rica), Danilo Medina (Dominican Republic), Juan Orlando Hernández (Honduras), and Horacio Cartes (Pa­raguay).
 
In addition to attending inauguration, the Cuban group paid tribute to scientist
 
Carlos J. Finlay, in Old Panama City's Plaza Francia, where a plaque honors the illustrious doctor from Camagüey, who in 1881 discovered that malaria was spread by mosquitoes, which had an important impact in Panama.