The Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) announced that the central debate for the 2026 edition of the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE) will focus on Panama's possible accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Under the slogan “OECD: Global trust, local progress? The future of Panama in debate,” the event is set to be a platform for unbiased analysis, evaluating the implications, benefits, and challenges of joining this international body.
«The discussion is not only about whether it is advisable to move forward, but also whether the country has the capacity to sustain the changes that this process entails,» Apede highlighted in its communiqué, stressing the need for long-term, evidence-based decision-making.
The conference will be inaugurated by Andrés Velasco, who led Chile's accession to the OECD in 2010 and is currently the Dean of the London School of Economics. The forum will also include experiences from regional countries, with Marianne Bennette, Catalina Crane, and Ana María Sánchez participating to discuss the challenges and lessons learned from their respective processes.
Key topics for discussion include the impact on the economic model, fiscal adjustments, the functioning of the financial system, the quality of public information, and governance, cited as one of the main challenges in a potential accession process. Apede emphasized that the international experience shows that joining the OECD implies profound transformations in public institutions, with higher standards of transparency, stricter controls, and less discretionary management.
CADE 2026 will take place from April 22 to 24 at the Sheraton Grand Panamá, bringing together representatives from the public, private, and civil society sectors.
