H.E. Jorge Barakat,
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority 

Jorge Barakat Pitty holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Science [Sigma Lambda] from the University of Panama and a Master’s Degree in Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration from the Latin American University of Science and Technology [ULACIT] as well as a postgraduate in alternative dispute resolution [Suma Cum Laude] and a Master’s Degree in maritime procedural law with emphasis on international maritime law.

He is a professor at the International Maritime University of Panama and the Universidad Del Istmo.

From 2009 to 2011, Mr Barakat served as Deputy Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority. In July 2014, he was appointed Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority [AMP] with the rank of Minister of Maritime Affairs. Since then, he has dedicated himself to transform the AMP into a ‘modern, transparent and open’ entity with a culture of service responding to the demands of the international maritime industry. As the AMP oversees the world’s largest Ship Registry, Mr Barakat has multiplied the Registry’s technical offices [Segumar] worldwide and modernized the systems through the digitalization of all processes for ship registration and increased Panama’s participation, at the highest level, in the International Maritime Organization [IMO] while signing co-operation agreements with other maritime administrations.

He has founded the law firm Barakat-Pitti and Associates that specializes in maritime, commercial and civil law. Currenttly is a member of the Pan-American institute of maritime law; the Panama maritime law association where he was designated as Commissioner for the Maritime code reforms (2006-2008); the Panama bar association and the association of maritime law “Mare Nostrum.”