The 82-kilometre (50-mile) artificial waterway known as the Panama Canal, makes the Republic of Panama a crucial point for international maritime trade.

But the country is not only a passage for thousands of ships transporting goods from East to West. Panama is also a key transit point for thousands of migrants and asylum seekers going from South to North. They risk it all searching for protection and better opportunities in the United States and Canada.

As global migration is on the rise, how is Panama coping with the current crisis at its border? Panama’s Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes talks to Al Jazeera.

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/