Panama rethinks foreign policy

Julieta Gutiérrez

PANAMA CITY - Panama's new government is rethinking the country's foreign policy. It has already taken the first steps toward withdrawing from the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), which it criticizes as toothless, and has announced that it will be keeping a close eye on the performance and training of new entrants to the foreign service.

Vice President and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela told EFE that the government is drawing up a plan to withdraw from Parlacen "in a proper manner" and said that the foreign ministry will be sending President Martinelli a "road map" with a breakdown of the legal and political aspects involved in the process.

AFP recalled that during his election campaign, Martinelli had referred to the regional parliament as a "useless body" that had deliberately turned itself into a forum with no power to bind its member states and was "a den of immunity that was costing the country a lot of money."

Panama spends US$4.2 million each year on Parlacen's running costs and the wages and fringe benefits of the 20 Panamanian deputies.

Parlacen, which sits in Guatemala, was founded in 1991 as a regional authority with the goal of maintaining peace in Central America. It consists of 20 deputies from each of the member countries - Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama. The only Central American country to stay out was Costa Rica, which, according to AFP, saw it as a bureaucratic haven designed to save politicians from being brought to justice in the courts.

Varela did not rule out a return to Parlacen and told AFP that "if it becomes a forum for debate and economic, social and cultural integration that benefits the Panamanian people, we would consider returning." He also stressed that Panama would remain on good terms with the other countries in the region.

Varela also announced that, as part of the foreign policy review, ambassadors and other foreign service officials would be assessed at regional meetings to ensure that they were performing well and were properly trained. According to La Estrella, he said that "everybody who is interested in exporting or attracting investments to Panama should be welcomed and receive unconditional assistance from ambassadors, consuls and other members of the foreign service."

Source: http://infosurhoy.com

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