IDB Invests in Panama and Promotes Regional Integration

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in addition to supporting Panama's integration with other nations and trade blocs, plans to further incentivize productivity so that the economic growth it experiences is sustainable, not just cyclical. The president of the IDB did not fail to mention the electrical interconnection between Panama and Colombia that the bank has supported with technical, environmental, and regulatory studies, as well as its financial structuring. 'Not only the design and the decision on the implementation,' stated the IDB executive. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), one of the main financial organizations that supports Panama, has nearly $1,000 million in programs for the country this year, its president Ilan Goldfajn reported. Another reform is to work so that the countries themselves can define their priorities, together with the IDB. Results Goldfajn said that among the reforms that have been proposed at the IDB is to see the results of the programs it finances in the region. On the other hand, through IDB Invest, the bank's private sector arm, it projects around $500 million in financing in tourism, water, transportation, sustainable tourism, and energy. Of the amount allocated by the IDB to the country, $405 million is for the public sector in areas of comptrollership, health, water, and sanitation. On the other hand, he highlighted the rapprochement that Panama has had with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which he saw as a sign of commitment to higher standards of public policy, governance, and transparency. They are also asking the private sector to help with development. 'Not how much money is financed, but to see the result in the number of people benefited.' Investment The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, expressed that investing in Panama is doing so in a country with 'clear rules of the game, where legal security is a state policy, not a discourse.' Goldfajn detailed that it includes a $300 million investment guarantee to mobilize private capital in drinking water in Panama and Colón, and another guide for an additional $230 million is being prepared for sanitation in David, Chiriquí. His words were given during the opening of the 39th Assembly of Governors of the IDB Group of the Central American Isthmus and the Dominican Republic, held this Tuesday in Panama. The head of state added that the country under his management remains distant from the improvisation and populism of past administrations. 'The point for the 26th is implementation.' It is a key deadline to advance in Siepac 2.0 (Central American Electrical Interconnection System) and deepen regional energy integration,' proposed Goldfajn.