Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama has led the way in proposing that the role of forests be included in the Paris agreement at the Conference of the Parties.
World leaders have been gathering this month to go over world climate change, and how to combat it. And Panama has made a significant presence when it comes to protecting its natural forests.
“We have worked for over a year to achieve consensus on the position of this group of 52 countries, the second most important in the negotiation of the summit,” said Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation Vice Minister Maria Luisa Navarro.
“We hope that world leaders recognize that to meet the target of keeping the increase in temperature below 2C, the protection and conservation of forests is essential.” The minister also stressed that Panama not only promoted this initiative at global level but led by example.
Source: Korea Times
Emirates offers special fares for Panama – Dubai flight
Earlier this year, Tocumen International airport in Panama announced that, in partnership with Emirates, it would offer a premium service between New York, and Dubai. In fact, it will be the largest non-stop business flight in the world. Right now, Emirates is getting ready for the inevitable uptick in service by offering exclusive deals on their inaugural flights.
Emirates said that fares would start from Dh7,205 in economy class and Dh20,250 in business class when booked for travel between February 1 and March 23.
The special fare offer is extended to 12 other cities including Cancun, Mexico City, Kingston and Havana, with connections offered via Panama City.
Source: The National
Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano visited PortMiami last week, which is also betting big on the canal expansion.
It’s no secret that of the major US ports to see a big advantage when the Panama Canal Expansion is complete, Miami is going to be one of the biggest benefactors. In a recent article in the Miami Herald, the head of the Canal Authority sat down to do a Q&A from Miami, in order to talk about this very partnership.
“Three years ago there was some skepticism among the shipping lines, but now there’s tremendous interest in shipping through Miami,” said Kuryla.
Because it’s expensive for big ships to come into port, they want to make as few stops as possible and it would be a big deal if the vessels made their first calls in PortMiami, rather than steam on to other ports along the East Coast.
PortMiami has already begun to receive its first big ships. On Nov. 5, the MSC Methoni, which had a 41-foot draft, called at the port. Before the dredge, which deepened the shipping channel from 44 feet to 50-52 feet, that would have been too close for comfort, said Kuryla.
Source: The Miami Herald
Panama Studies Cross-Country, High Speed Train to Connect Major Cities
Business is booming between Panama’s two major cities, yet transportation still heavily relies on fossil fuels. Now, Panama is committed to changing that by exploring the idea of building a high speed rail line that will connect the East and West. In our latest blog post, we take a look at whether it’s feasible or not.
Aside from the clear environmental benefits of a high-speed rail service, the train would also offer major economic benefits. Principally, it would connect smaller cities and suburbs to major economic areas, and secondly, could help drive new business investment to those smaller markets. One of Panama’s biggest economic issues is geographic disparity.
This means that most business is centered in only a few cities, making suburbs and smaller urban areas feeder markets, rather than viable business centers. One of the big reasons for this is access. Many cities in the interior are cut off from efficient transportation, and therefore are inopportune for new investment.
Continue reading about the Panama high speed train
