Panama's accession to the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and President José Raúl Mulino's visit to Brazil, the most important economy in that region, is viewed positively by business groups. However, they advocate for strengthening the legal framework and even streamlining some processes for establishing companies so that this becomes another virtue to attract the much-desired foreign investment.
Castillo highlighted that Panama needs to "streamline all processes related to the establishment of companies".
According to Castillo, Panama can become the port of exit for many products coming from different countries.
"It is important that we establish stronger ties with organisms like Mercosur; there we have an alliance that can generate fruits for the country," Castillo stated in Telemetro Reporta.
He recalled that in Mercosur "there is a very important economy like Brazil's, while Argentina is rebounding, and with the other countries we can establish multiple relationships that are of mutual benefit".
"Panama must exploit all its comparative advantages; the essential one is its geographical position, its logistics, and financial structure".
In turn, Giulia De Sanctis, president of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede), stated that with these maneuvers "an important door is opened, in addition to Panama's exit from some discriminatory lists, which will bring more foreign investment".
"We must strengthen our legal structure, give legal security to investors, we have all the conditions to develop a model that attracts international investors and continue to progress in institutionalization," she asserted.
For Rubén Castillo, former president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CoNEP), "that is the right path."
"2025 was a year of preparation so that in 2026 we can receive that much-needed foreign investment in the country," he concluded.
