By H. E. Willys Delvalle Velasco, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama.
With great determination and pride Panama has made all efforts necessary for the success of the VII Summit of the Americas, on April the 10th and 11th, and due to concerns about our region, since the very beginning proposed as the main theme: “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation for the Americas”, a crucial meeting at which converge the countries of the Americas confirmed by high level of each delegation.
This Summit is framed by the valuable exchange of views and the discussions on regional topics based on the eight themes that supported the main programme of the meeting: health, education, environment, citizen participation, democratic governance, migration, energy and security.
Panama welcomes all participants in a friendly environment to share the concern about the difficulties that involve the countries of our hemisphere in diverse aspects, as well as the great challenges that require a common strategy, aiming to achieve the main goal: prosperity and equity for our people.
Prior and parallel to the official programme of the Summit of the Americas, several pre-Conference events have been organized to take place, including four major events to strengthen the process of the presidential meeting such as the Bussiness Forum, the Youth Forum of the Americas, the Forum of Civil Society and Rectors Forum, held for the first time as an innovative high level dialogue in Panama.
The First Forum of Rectors represent the space in which authorities of the foremost centers of highest education in the continent can present their points of view and recommendations on prosperity and on the highest level of education to the Heads of States and Government, as well as coordinate assessments and analyze the challenges of current situation on cooperation between universities.
With great enthusiasm, Panama has been totally committed to working hard and offer the appropriate conditions for a fruitful dialogue in order to promote respect for our diversity as societies and the will of looking forward for understanding through consensus, sending a strong message that all efforts should be deployed for deep hemispheric consolidation.
In terms of foreign policy, Panama has worked hard to promote the convergence, building bridges between nations, approaching positions and making efforts to strengthen the principles of international peace and security, returning to the historical vocation of seeking reconciliation and promoting the tools that enable the implementation of an effective and practical diplomacy.
Thus, Panama offers comparative advantages to the world including all the services that have developed around our privileged geographical position, the Panama Canal has expanded as a strategic point between the logistics and multimodal platform which is available for international trade, with last generation ports in both sides of the country, on the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts, and complemented by the activities of a highly qualified financial center.
It has also facilitated our air platform through the Hub of the Americas which is located in Panama city and connecting all the main cities and countries of the hemisphere with a convenient flight schedules, that gives the business, tourists and cargo a parallel connectivity al around the world. The legal stability remains the strength of commercial transactions, with incentives for multinational enterprises and creating sustained growth.
We see a prosperous future ahead for this five-year period, with the optimism of the hard work of the Panamanian people, at the same time it is expected that our neighbors and friends undertake joint efforts to identify opportunities that can generate benefits for the people of the Americas, with the determination to increase cooperation and strengthen common values that can create an impact in our region.
Hosting the Summit of the Americas represents and will represent Panama’s strong and decisive start of a new phase, the consolidation of a forum in which our region converges the challenge presented: is to effectively work for the welfare of the citizens of the Americas, with the expectation of generating an increase in the quality of life and human development with equity.
