Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino will meet with representatives of US banana giant Chiquita Brands in Brazil later this month amid a push for the company to resume operations in his country after it laid off its entire workforce due to a strike, a minister announced Monday.

Chiquita, which employed more than 6,000 people in the town of Changuinola in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro, laid off the workers earlier this spring after prolonged protests that paralyzed the region.

The meeting will take place during Mulino's visit to Brazil, which begins August 28, and officials hope it will lead to an agreement with Chiquita, said Commerce and Industry Minister Julio Molto.

Talks with the company "are progressing positively... I hope we can reach a good agreement with Chiquita an

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