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To expand educational cooperation for the benefit of our youth, the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, Ana Luisa Castro, met with James E. Taylor, director of the Inter-American Defense College (IADC), based in Washington D.C.
The meeting was also conducive to discussing the growing irregular migratory flows, the challenges in terms of regional security, and the foundations of Panamanian foreign policy.
Denver, Colorado. Panamá was part of The Conference and Annual Exposition of NAFSA in 2022.
NAFSA is the largest reunion in the world of professionals in international education The country comes standing under the slogan: KNOWLEDGE IN PANAMA where representatives will meet from the City Foundation of Knowledge, The University of Santa María La Antigua, The Technological University of Panamá, The Technological University of Oteima (from the Chiriquí province), and for the first time the University of Panamá.
The Minister of External Relations through the Direction of International Cooperation has made it so that Panamá could be present as an exhibitor in this most important meeting. The Embassy of Panamá in the United States has also helped both logistically and in connection with the North American universities present.
During the first three days of NAFSA, meetings have been held with more than 80 Centers for Higher Learning with the majority of the programs from the United States being interested in forming partnerships with exchange students including exploring scholarship opportunities for university-age Panamanian students, postgrads, masters degree, and doctorate programs; in this way, many out-of-country research opportunities also exist for these students.
Panamá offers innumerable opportunities for foreign students in developing their research projects and meeting with well-established STEM career programs from SENACYT, City of Knowledge, the UTP, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), making Panamá
the only country outside of the United States to have a research headquarters of such a prestigious organization.
Additionally, Universities in Turkey, Spain, Catalan, Ecuador, France, England, and Dubai have demonstrated interest in exploring academic connections with Panamá.
At the end of the event, more than 100 universities were able to meet, among which Panamanian participants had the opportunity to present and promote their academic offerings to the rest of the world.
NAFSA 2022 counts more than 200 exhibitors that represent hundreds of organizations from all over the world, including colleges, universities, foreign studies and intensive English programs, embassies, governmental agencies, and more. The theme of the conference for 2022 was ¨Constructing Our Sustainable Future¨, and it took place in the newly developed Convention Center of Colorado in Denver from May 31st to the 3rd of June.
Panamá has participated in NAFSA as an exhibitor since the year 2016.
The foreign ministers, security ministers, and immigration authorities from South, Central, and North America gathered in Panama to support the country's leadership in the articulation of regional strategies.
After the international meeting, a work table is created to deal with migratory flows at a continental level.
Panama City, Panama (April 20, 2022). With the consolidation of a new regional framework to attend to migratory flows at the continental level, the Ministerial Meeting on Migration convened by Panama concluded, in which foreign ministers, security ministers, and directors of Migration from countries of the American continent participated.
“We have strategically focused on the problem in a coordinated effort by the State, acting immediately and facing the challenge decisively because we understand that we cannot remain in the discourse in the face of a problem of this magnitude, said the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, in a message offered to the participants of the Meeting.
The president reaffirmed the commitment of the Republic of Panama to work in collaboration with friendly countries as strategic allies in the search for joint solutions with transversal policies and concrete actions that promote regular, orderly, and safe migrations respecting human rights. In addition, the Panamanian president thanked those present "for their participation, willingness and determination to work on regional integration to address the irregular migratory phenomenon in the context of international migration."
The participating countries agreed to establish a framework led by the foreign ministers to coordinate the standardization of continental policies, as well as the promotion of cooperation between States, intergovernmental organizations and development banks, and international aid funds to attend in a way orderly, safe, and humane high migratory flows and the factors that encourage them.
"This framework offers a clear roadmap, milestones and concrete goals and the policies that we must implement in a way that ensures the well-being of the people who transit through our countries and the stability of the communities that receive them," said Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes. about the deal.
Minister Mouynes explained that, after the first meeting called by Panama in August last year, which was followed up technically and diplomatically, this meeting has achieved "unprecedented progress and the institutional and multilateral framework required by the region to guarantee a sustainable and humanitarian response to the high flows of transcontinental migration”.
In addition, she identifies the need for financing that States affected by migration need from their origin, transit and destination.
“Addressing the phenomenon of irregular emigration is a priority on our agendas and we have committed to doing it together. That is the great triumph of this meeting”, concluded the Panamanian Foreign Minister.
The foreign and security ministers meeting in Panama agreed on the need to combat human trafficking and the cartels that promote misinformation and put at risk the physical integrity of migrants who are victims of their cross-border trafficking networks.
"We are determined to ensure the application of international humanitarian law and to dismantle, as we have done so far, the organized crime networks that take advantage of the hopes of thousands of men, women and children in search of better opportunities," they pointed out in the statements. conclusions. (?)
At the meeting, which also brought together the International Organization for Migration, the Red Cross and international funding agencies, three lines of work were defined:
• Stabilization of migrant-receiving communities and their recovery after the pandemic
• Attention to the root causes, including infrastructure development and basic needs, in the countries of origin as a mechanism to discourage irregular migratory flows.
• Co-responsibility in the attention to the phenomenon between the countries of origin, transit and destination.
"With today's results, the path is paved to generate new opportunities and guide the region towards development that gradually transforms the conditions that force these massive displacements," the minister concluded at the meeting.
As the next step in the Panamanian diplomatic strategy, Foreign Minister Mouynes announced the next meeting, also in Panama, of the ministers of Central America and the Caribbean, to collate an ambitious regional proposal that addresses the economic and political impacts of the current geopolitical context, which will also affect migratory movements.
This call, set for May 3, is also attended by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, a political bloc with which collaboration relations and bi-regional alliances are strengthened.
During the meeting, the immigration figures registered by the Darien Gap, between the border of Colombia and Panama, were shared, with peaks of up to 2,800 people a day in 2021 and a grand total of 130,000 migrants of 35 different nationalities during that time. same year.
Panama is the only country on the American route that offers shelter, food and medical attention to irregular migrants and also the only one that applies biometric controls with which those persecuted by justice worldwide are identified.
In an average year, 8,000 irregular migrants cross Panama. In 2021, the figure rose to more than 130 thousand and so far in 2022, the number exceeds 15 thousand.
The event is attended by 20 countries in the hemisphere, which supports Panama's regional leadership in the face of this growing phenomenon.
Among the confirmed Foreign Ministers is the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Panama, April 17 (2022). Panama is once again the venue for a high-level dialogue to provide comprehensive follow-up to the challenges generated by irregular migration throughout our continent, with increasingly high flows, which coincide with specific crises in the countries of origin and affect countries of transit and destination.
The high-level ministerial meeting convened by Panama with the collaboration of the United States will be held on April 19 and 20 at the Bolívar Palace, the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry, and in a hotel in the Panamanian capital.
At least 20 countries have already confirmed their attendance, expanding the participation of the first meeting to which Panama invited virtually in August 2021, during the peak of the irregular migratory movement across our borders and attended by representatives of ten governments from the continent to talk for the first time about solutions together and with a comprehensive approach that involved the security authorities and the Public Ministries and Attorney General's Offices.
In this unprecedented and successful call, marked by the restrictions of the pandemic, it was established that irregular migration responds to transnational incentives and that the response for its adequate attention, with criteria of security, solidarity, and respect for human rights, must be agreed. and with co-responsibility, distributed among countries of origin, transit, and destination.
The representatives of Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, Mexico, and Peru, gathered by Panama on that first day of continental work on intercontinental and transcontinental irregular migration, recognized that the bulk of people on the move travel precariously under the false promise that they will be allowed to enter the country of destination, which for most is the United States, Canada, and Mexico, in that order, and which take several years to reach their goal, investing significant sums of money, generally managed by criminal groups with an international reach.
Based on these premises, in this week's meeting, the call has been expanded, including Caribbean countries, with which the entire continent participates, and security ministers join the foreign ministers, along with non-governmental organizations, development banks, and international multilateral institutions that will attend some of the meetings, so that comprehensive solution proposals are generated at this meeting.
The support of the United States for this initiative, with the presence of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Border Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who is traveling to Panama for the first time, is manifested in the agenda of the meeting, which includes the main proposals made by the Panamanians, such as the defense of institutions and governance to discourage emigration and the fight against corruption as a destabilizing element of democracies.
“For more than a year we have been working with the United States and other important American partners to find common ground and areas of articulation to address this phenomenon and avoid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the region. This is a matter that we cannot resolve separately. We have the opportunity to establish new effective collaboration mechanisms for specific issues and we are starting with the comprehensive and holistic management of irregular migration. Gathered in Panama, ministers from all over the continent can achieve historic achievements”, declared Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes ahead of the meeting.
The Ministerial Meeting on Migration in Panama is emerging as one of the most important post-pandemic events in the region, due to the high level of the participants and because it consolidates a follow-up dynamic to the meetings that have been taking place after Panama's invitation, both technically and politically.
The work sessions will be distributed during the morning of Wednesday 20 in groups separated by competences and the plenary session will be held in the afternoon of the same day, with a closing that foresees conclusions and recommendations.
The member countries of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) chose Panama as the venue for the next Assembly of Governors and the Inter-American Investment Corporation to be held in 2023.
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Héctor Alexander, expressed his gratitude to all the member countries and added that “for the Government and the Panamanians, the celebration of the Assemblies of the IDB Group 2023 constitutes a distinction and a great opportunity to offer and demonstrate our vocation of brotherhood and hospitality with the countries of the world, a vocation that has motivated the historical expression of Panama, bridge of the world and heart of the universe”.
He assured the members of the IDB that, from now on, the government team, through all the institutions, is ready to work and prepare jointly on the issues of security, infrastructure, logistics, technology, transportation, health, customs processes and immigration, culture and tourism, to ensure that the experience in the next meeting of governors in our country is pleasant.
Economic and financial leaders from the 48 member countries of the IDB will meet in Panama, which will have a positive impact on the economy, especially the tourism sector.
The Boards of Governors, which are held annually, allow the formulation of the highest level policies for the IDB and IDB Invest. Its first meeting was held in 1960, in the Republic of El Salvador.
Bloomberg announced that the first Bloomberg New Economy Gateway regional convening will be held Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 19 in Panama City. The editorial program will focus on Latin America’s economic future as the region rebuilds from the devastation of Covid. In addition, Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Latin America will examine the potential spillover from the war in Ukraine on developing nations that are now facing new threats from food shortages, rising energy prices and broken supply chains.
Global and Latin American leaders from private and public sectors, from both developed and emerging economies, will meet to discuss and act on these critical issues and others across Bloomberg New Economy’s five editorial pillars – trade, finance, health, cities and climate change. This is the first-ever Bloomberg New Economy event held outside of Asia, expanding on the flagship New Economy Forum, which held its fourth edition in Singapore in November 2021.
Bloomberg LP Chairman Peter Grauer said, “Bloomberg New Economy and the flagship Forum have evolved over four years to build cooperation between not just the East and West, but North and South. The first Gateway event in Panama this May will strengthen our year-round work in support of that vision, bringing top business executives and government leaders together to focus on Latin America’s growth.”
The Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Latin America preliminary agenda is available here. More specifics on programming will be announced and will focus on these areas:
Wednesday, May 18 – Restoring Growth, Jobs and Trust – A discussion on helping LatAm grow again post-covid, dealing with inflation and empowering entrepreneurs – especially women – and looking at regional and global supply chains.
Thursday, May 19 – Striving for Social and Environmental Progress – Rebuilding healthcare systems after the Covid pandemic to prepare for the next possible shock, closing the poverty gap by realizing the right to health; and protecting Latin America’s biodiversity.
The President of the Republic of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen said, “Panama is a true gateway for trade, so we are a perfect place to host this first Bloomberg New Economy event in Latin America. We are delighted to be hosting dignitaries and executives from around the world and region.”
The Bloomberg Gateway Latin America event is being developed and steered in cooperation with its advisory board which includes: Adrienne Arsht, Executive Vice-Chair, The Atlantic Council; Andre de Street Aguiar, Co-Founder, StoneCo; Leon Falic, President, Duty-Free Americas; Milton Maluhy Filho, CEO, Itaú Unibanco; Jay Hartzell, President, The University of Texas Austin; Jorge Paulo Lemann, Founder, 3G Capital; Stanley Motta, President, and Director, Motta International; Shannon K. O’Neil, Vice President, Latin American Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Mauricio Ramos, President, CEO and Executive Director, Millicom International; Luis Sarmiento Gutierrez, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Grupo Aval; Susan Segal, President and CEO, Council of the Americas; and Blanca Treviño, President and Chief Executive Officer, Softtek.
Jorge Paulo Lemann, Founder of Brazil’s 3G Capital said, “The Bloomberg New Economy Gateway event is a fresh, new, and perfect opportunity for corporate executives and government officials to share their best ideas on how to create a stronger future for Latin America.”
The Minister of Commerce and Industries (MICI), Ramón Martínez met with a delegation of members of the State Assembly of California, United States (USA), within the framework of a work tour they are carrying out in the country.
Assembly members José Medina, Jacqui Irwin, Robert Rivas and Freddie Rodríguez were received by the head of the MICI together with the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Juan Carlos Sosa, and the General Director of Investor Services, Daniel Yau, who provided them with information on the advantages of the country in commercial and tourist matters, due to its air, maritime and land connectivity, the 23 free trade agreements that it maintains in force and its special regimes.
"Panama plays a crucial role in terms of supply chains, so it is important to encourage California companies to move their manufacturing plants to our country and to be able to serve the East Coast," said Minister Martínez.
He recalled that, as part of these efforts, the MICI is also carrying out an agenda with the US State Department to assess the opportunities offered by the nearshoring trend, since the country is promoted as the ideal place to attract manufacturing companies and bring their products closer to the destination market, through the EMMA licensing system.
Among other topics, the MICI authorities presented the benefits of the Bloomberg LATAM Forum that will take place next May, the options that Panama offers for the film sector, as well as the campaign that is being carried out to arouse the interest of international production houses.
Likewise, the choice of Panama as the fifth best country to retire and its recent contributions to Tourism as a Homeport for Norwegian and Royal Caribbean were highlighted.
Within the economic reactivation actions of the government of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, an aggressive promotional agenda is being developed to attract investments, mainly sustainable, considering that Panama is one of the 3 countries worldwide to be carbon negative. In this sense, it was indicated that energy and food security will be essential issues in the near future, for which initiatives will be proposed that seek to encourage the transfer of knowledge in the field of innovation and agricultural technology since California has extensive experience in this aspect.
For his part, Assemblyman José Medina stated that there is interest on the part of the California State Assembly for the progress of economic recovery and unemployment in the region. Likewise, he said that there are good expectations regarding the Bloomberg Forum in Panama, while emphasizing that there are Californian companies interested in investing in Panamanian territory.
After generating more than B/. 1,100 million in transactions and carrying out more than 19,600 business rounds in the last 11 years, the LAC FLAVORS commercial showcase will move its twelfth edition to Panama, the Minister of Commerce and Industries (MICI), Ramón Martínez, reported Monday, after a meeting with representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The event, which is being held for the first time in the country, promotes the expansion and strengthening of the exchange of goods in the region in the food and beverage sector, through a series of meetings and training for the development of new business opportunities between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), several of them geared towards packaging and export certifications.
“The IDB, within the strategic alliance it maintains with Panama, is an ambassador of good news by considering us the next host of this important event, which has been held in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina," he said.
Hundreds of agrifood companies from Latin America and the Caribbean meet annually with buyers from around the world at LAC FLAVORS, organized by the IDB through the ConnectAmericas platform.
To coordinate the bilateral and regional agenda and the visit of the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken to Panama, the Foreign Minister in charge Marta Gordón, received Serena Hoy, Deputy Secretary for International Affairs of the Department of National Security, Emily Mendrala , Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Marta Youth , Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
President Cortizo received FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, who assured that the country can become the new distribution center for food, technology, and medicines for the world, especially in Asia.
At the meeting, it was agreed that Panama will prepare a proposal to establish an agri-food hub in the country, a plan that will be presented in Rome, Italy in October 2022.
Within the framework of the thirty-seventh Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Director General Qu Dongyu visited Panama, and held an important meeting with President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, this Saturday morning in which it was agreed to promote joint actions that allow advancing and strengthening the country's agri-food system, in the midst of current conflicts and global challenges.
The Chief Executive said that after an important work meeting, it was agreed to develop between the FAO team and the National Government, a proposal to establish an agri-food hub in Panama to distribute food to Asia.
“What we need is to have a well thought out document; We must take the first steps forward because this is a very good idea to strengthen the Panamanian productive sector and boost job creation,” said Cortizo Cohen.
The president added that the proposal will be presented in Rome, next October in the framework of the FAO Agriculture Week, a meeting in which investors from Asia will participate.
The Chief Executive thanked the FAO delegation for the visit and said that for him "this meeting is very important because the world is facing many challenges, I hate to say it, but it is like the perfect storm, we have to be cautious because things are They are complicating the food supply.”
He also noted that Panama is a beacon of democracy and a defender of human rights.
The agenda of the meeting that took place in the Presidency of the Republic focused on topics such as: the problem of food inflation due to the increase in the price of food as a result of the pandemic; and the effects on this same topic of current events in relation to the conflict in Eastern Europe.
For his part, Qu Dongyu, said that Panama has a privileged geographical position and can become the new food, technology and medicine distribution center for the world, especially for Asia.
Both authorities also agreed to join efforts to create an infrastructure that streamlines food distribution logistics in the Latin American and Caribbean region, benefiting from the strategic position of Panama and the Interoceanic Canal.
The Director General of FAO took the opportunity to recognize and congratulate the National Government for "Panama Solidario", an emblematic program at the global level, which assisted the population affected by the pandemic in a time of need, through the transfer of money and food.
Qu Dongyu reiterated his statement about the importance of working to find new and more diverse food suppliers; applauding the efforts of the Government of Panama, through the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), to promote the internal production of some products of the Panamanian basic basket, qualifying this measure as one of the most effective responses to the current reality.
This space for discussion also made it possible to verify the important progress made by the country in relation to the strengthening of the national regulatory framework for family farming and the facilitation of access for these families to new technologies for production, through the sustainable use of natural resources.
Similarly, the implementation of social protection programs of the National Government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was highlighted, such as: the Panama Solidario and Study Without Hunger programs, which favor the acquisition of locally produced food and the linking of family farming to school feeding.
Finally, the head of the FAO urged the Government of Panama to continue the path towards a consolidated, interministerial and intersectoral strategy, which guarantees food security conditions for the entire population.
President Cortizo Cohen was accompanied by ministers Augusto Valderrama, of Agricultural Development; Ivette Berrío, Health Manager; María Inés Castillo, from Social Development; Milciades Concepción, from Environment; Ramón Martínez, of Commerce and Industries and the Vice Ministers Juan Carlos Sosa, of Commerce and Industries and Ana Luisa Castro, of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Tomás Duncan, Permanent Representative of Panama to FAO; the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Panama, Cristian Munduate; and a high-level delegation from the FAO that included the deputy director general, Julio Berdegué; the Subregional Coordinator for Mesoamerica and Representative in Panama, Adoniram Sanches, and the Chief Economist and Deputy Director General of the FAO Department of Economic and Social Development, Máximo Torero.
