The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, emphasized this Tuesday to the governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) that Panama has become an ideal country for international investment, with clear rules of the game, that it has reduced its fiscal deficit in record time, is demonstrating legal security and remains free from the improvisation and populism of past administrations. His message resonated during the opening of the 39th Meeting of Governors of the BID Group of the Central American Isthmus and the Dominican Republic, which is being held in this capital, where the international credit institution is launching two new initiatives to boost development in the region. For the president, this meeting represents “an invaluable opportunity to strengthen regional collaboration and consolidate common positions with a view to the General Assembly in Paraguay next month.” Additionally, he thanked the BID for its support to Panama during his administration, both in the financial realm and in critical issues that define the country's social stability and international projection. In this sense, Mulino highlighted that in the year and a half of his mandate, “the house has been put in order,” which positions Panama to take advantage of the opportunities that arise to boost its economic and social development. “The results are irrefutable: in 2025 we achieved a historic reduction in the fiscal deficit, lowering it from levels close to 7% to 3.68%.” “We achieved this by optimizing public spending without affecting economic growth, demonstrating that it is possible to put the house in order responsibly,” he remarked. Before the BID governors, the Panamanian president proclaimed that “investing in Panama is investing in a country with clear rules of the game, where legal security is a state policy, not a discourse. This includes a $300 million investment guarantee to mobilize private capital in drinking water in Panama and Colón, and we are preparing a second one for $230 million for sanitation in the city of David,” Goldfajn detailed. Furthermore, through the BID Invest program, financing of $500 million is projected in the tourism, water, transportation, and energy sectors. During his speech, Goldfajn valued positively Panama's approach to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the electrical interconnection project with Colombia, the development of the Puerto Armuelles logistics center, and the drinking water projects. Amid the governors' meeting in Panama, the BID is launching two new initiatives within its regional program “América en el Centro.” One of these is Cargo Pass, to modernize logistics along the Pacific Corridor. “Capital does not flee from adjustment, it flees from improvisation, and in Panama improvisation and populism are over.” Achievements such as Panama's incorporation into Mercosur as an Associated State, the approval of a new Social Security law, and the promotion of major infrastructure works will consolidate the country as the most efficient and dynamic connecting bridge of the Americas. He emphasized that Panama's logistics platform—which includes the interoceanic canal, the port system, and the “hub” of the Americas operating in sync—is at the service of the entire region and the initiatives for greater integration of the continent's sister nations. For his part, the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) Group, Ilan Goldfajn, announced that for this year 2026 the bank has a one-billion-dollar investment program for Panama, which he defined as “a natural anchor for regional integration.” “In the public sector, it's $450 million in the Comptroller's Office, Health, water, and sanitation. Goldfajn stated that with an investment of $100 million, economic benefits of over $700 million can be generated. The second initiative is Talent Up, in alliance with Google, whose objective is to grant 60,000 scholarships to develop digital skills. The event was attended by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman; governors and heads of the BID from Central America and the Dominican Republic, directors, and executives of the BID Group. This article was first published in La Verdad Panamá. “This represents a decrease of almost 40%, a compelling figure that demonstrates the seriousness of our commitment,” explained Mulino. “We not only comply with the law, but we far exceed the expectations of the markets and rating agencies,” he added.
