Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama-China FTA talks move to Beijing
Panama ’s chief negotiator Alberto Alemán Arias said that during the session both delegations will end up agreeing terminology, concepts, and definitions that will apply throughout the business agreement and will begin the presentation and analysis of their respective positions of tariff lines services and products.
A total of 27 representatives of business and productive associations confirmed their participation in the “Fourth Deputy Consultation”. Alemán Arias valued as “very positive” that a group of businessmen and producers will be present. “For us, it has been very important to maintain an open and agile communication with the private sector so we will achieve a good agreement for Panama,” he said
The FTA negotiations were launched in Beijing on June 12 at the end of one year of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Source: Newsroom Panama
Panama: “Chiquita was a kind of parallel government in Bocas del Toro”
Bocas del Toro in general, and Changuinola in particular, are indebted to Chiquita for its first public infrastructures. The banana company arrived in the area in 1896, when Panama was still part of Colombia. Since then, and up until 2014, Chiquita was part of the Chiquita Brands company, based in Charlotte, on the east coast of the United States.
That year the multinational decided to sell its operations in Changuinola. It was acquired by the Brazilian group Cutrale-Safra, but the bananas were still marketed under the Chiquita brand and the local people continued to associate them with that company. The power that the company exerted since it arrived to this location has diminished, even though it continues being the main source of employment in the region. 80% of the workers from Changuinola work in the company, according to the Workers Trade Union of the Banana, Agricultural, and Allied Industries (Sitraibana).
Source: Fresh Plazaf
This Hidden Resort In Panama Is The Ultimate Private Island Getaway.
Ian Fleming himself couldn’t have dreamt up a more luxuriously isolated resort than Islas Secas. The nine-casita eco-lodge is the only structure in the 14-island archipelago Islas Secas (“dry islands”, so named for the low tides), 20 nautical miles south of mainland Panama.
It’s estimated that before the resort was built, the last human habitation was some 600 years ago. The adventure to Islas Secas Reserve and Lodge begins in David, 45 minutes’ flight from Panama City. From here it’s a tranquil hour-long boat ride, through waterways flanked by mangroves and then out into the open sea. The rocky clumps of islands flanking the path gradually drop away and then there’s nothing but you, the occasional frigatebird overhead, and Pacific, the rich blue of the crayon used to draw it.
Source: Forbes
The Amador Causeway: the picturesque urban escape
Panama City is a packed metropolis, known for its hustle and bustle, business center, and luxury residential, office, and hotel towers. These have become the public face of Panama City, and the iconic symbols of a city, and country on the rise.
But if you talk about the history of the city, the Canal, and how it’s been settled over the years, you’d be remise if you didn’t highlight the Amador Causeway. The Amador Causeway and islands lay on the far south side of Panama City. The islands are connected by a thin strip of land, and subsequent avenue that connects them with the city, and have a rich history and bright future ahead of them, all in one. For years, Panamanians have been using this part of the city as a refuge from the hustle and bustle; a place to live or spend the day on the water, just minutes from downtown.
Source: International Relocation Firm Blog
