Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday in Madrid the new counterpart of Panama, Javier Martínez-Acha, to whom he offered Spain's support so that his country adapts its legislation to international standards on tax and transparency matters. regulations and who offered the great potential that his country has for Spanish companies in terms of infrastructure.
Yesterday Albares held his second meeting with Martínez-Acha, who visited Spain just two weeks after taking office. The first meeting took place on July 1 in Panama City, on the occasion of the presence of King Felipe VI at the inauguration of the new president, José Raúl Mulino. After that meeting, the Panamanian foreign minister highlighted - in statements to the Efe agency - that the Spanish Government has "supported a lot" to his country in "the fight to get off the lists" of tax havens, in which "we do not deserve to be."
Precisely, as Foreign Affairs reported in a press release, Albares yesterday offered Martínez-Acha the technical collaboration and political support of Spain "so that Panama adapts its legislation to international standards in fiscal matters and regulatory transparency as soon as possible."
Likewise, Albares invited the Panamanian Foreign Minister to hold, before the end of the year, the second round of political consultations between the two countries, after the opening of that process in January 2023. During the meeting, the minister announced that Spain will hold a contribution of 200,000 euros to the International Federation of the Red Cross to address the devastating effects of Hurricane 'Beryl' in Central America and showed the full willingness of the Spanish Government to promote a new legal and regulatory framework that articulates bilateral cooperation in the coming years. years, with new instruments and modalities.
Regarding economic relations, Albares highlighted that Panama is a strategic partner for Spain and recalled that there are important Spanish companies that contribute to the development of the country and the generation of employment through the awarding of contracts to carry out infrastructure works.
Spain-Panama business forum
Precisely, as reported by the Panamanian Foreign Ministry, one of the main objectives of Martínez-Acha's visit to Spain is to “attract investments” to Panama, which includes meetings with various authorities, insurance and energy companies and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations. (CEOE).
To this end, the Panamanian minister participated yesterday in the Panama-Spain business forum, organized by the CEOE, the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business, ICEX, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Panama itself and held at the headquarters of the Confederation in Madrid.
During his speech, Javier Martínez-Acha highlighted the great potential that his country has in terms of infrastructure and reported on the projects planned by his Government for the next five years and that may be of interest to Spanish companies.
For example, the minister recalled the railway line that will connect the city of David (in the west of the country) with Panama City, two water treatment plants, the third runway of the Tocumen International Airport and the expansion of its terminals, a new City University, investments in public road works, damming of the Indio River within the Canal basin, a new National Oncology hospital or investments to improve the competitiveness of the Panama Canal. Likewise, he assured that Panama is learning from Spain and neighboring countries to develop a general tourism and convention industry, for which Panama meets "excellent conditions."
At the same event, the general director of Trade and Investment of the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business, Alicia Varela, recalled that “Spain is one of Panama's main economic partners, with more than one hundred Spanish companies established, which generate more than 6,000 direct jobs", and the Spanish ambassador in Panama, Guzmán Palacios, assured that "there is a firm commitment on the part of the Government to comply with Spanish companies" and take advantage of the "great opportunities in public works."
For his part, the vice president of CEOE, Íñigo Fernández de Mesa, indicated that Panama is, for Spanish companies, the “commercial and logistics hub” par excellence of Latin America and the International director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Jaime Montalvo , expressed his desire that the new Panamanian Administration help advance the “public-private collaboration agenda.”
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