The Governor of Missouri and the First Lady are in Panama this (Monday) morning on an international trade mission.

Increasing Missouri’s exports to Panama is a priority for Gov. Mike Parson, who farms in Bolivar and calls the trade mission another opportunity to strengthen relationships with key international partners. Gov. Parson tells Wake Up Mid-Missouri he also wants to thank members of the Missouri National Guard who are participating in a multinational exercise to ensure the free movement of goods through the Panama Canal:

“They have been operating there for decades, you know, down there in Panama,” says the governor.

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Missouri National Guard has participated in a State Partnership Program (SPP) with Panama since 1996.

The Missouri governor also hopes to boost exports from the “Show-Me State” to Panama during his international trade mission, which continues through Tuesday. The governor and first lady are on the trade mission along with other state officials and business leaders. The Missouri nonprofit Hawthorn Foundation is funding the trade mission. Governor Parson tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that he is also meeting with representatives from the Kansas City Southern Railroad:

“When Kansas City Southern merged with Canadian Pacific to build the first through railroad from Canada to Mexico and North America, their headquarters are in Kansas City. So they put the railroad down there at Panama City. They’re the ones who put that line up and down the canal,” Parson says.

The merger will create the first and only single-track transnational rail line connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico. The governor’s office says Missouri exported $37 million worth of goods to Panama in 2023, including dairy products, grains and refrigeration equipment.

Listen to the full “Wake Up” interview with Governor Parson here.