This experience should not only serve to modernize those specific concessions, but also to drive the creation of a robust new legal framework that covers all ports and the country's maritime and logistics infrastructure. The decisions we make today will mark the competitiveness of the coming decades. This is the time to send a firm message to the world: Panama respects contracts, but also demands that they be respected. We move around 10 million TEUs per year and are a key connection hub between continents. Every decision made in this area impacts investor confidence, legal stability, and the country's competitiveness. Three decades ago, when the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal were concessioned, the context was completely different. We must improve ourselves, not only to be competitive, but to become the best version of ourselves. The subsequent contractual changes that generated questions and ended up in the courts leave us a clear lesson: legal security is not negotiable, and the rules must be solid from the start. That decision responded to a concrete economic reality. As a jurist, I am convinced that a country's stability is built on respect for the law, but also on the correct structuring of contracts. We are a country open to investment, committed to legality and determined to strengthen its institutional framework. From APEDE, we assume this process with a constructive, vigilant, and proactive stance. In addition to guaranteeing open and transparent bidding processes, defined technical criteria, and oversight mechanisms that ensure that each concession generates investment, employment, knowledge transfer, and real benefits for the country, we need to mature institutionally. We are a consolidated logistics platform, but both regional competition and our desire to grow and evolve challenge us to raise our standards. This framework must guarantee higher standards, promote competitiveness, and ensure that the benefits generated by this activity are distributed equitably. What weakens reputation is not to change and insist on maintaining schemes that generate doubts. When the rules are clear, there is no room for interpretations that weaken the institutionality. You may be interested: Colón took to the streets! We have the opportunity to do it right and we cannot let it pass. Panama has a great opportunity today: to order its logistics sector so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and to strengthen one of the most important pillars of our economy. The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice on the contract with Panama Ports Company calls us to do things better, with clear rules, transparency, and a long-term vision. Logistics represents nearly 11.8% of the Gross Domestic Product, generates thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and positions Panama as a strategic hub in world trade. Today the scenario is different. Panama was preparing for the reversion of the Canal and needed urgent investment to modernize deteriorated infrastructures. Logistics will continue to be a driver of growth and job creation, but it must be built on solid foundations. 174 years of history and drum. March 01, 2026 “Sabores de Colón” attracts 60,000 visitors and its entrepreneurs captivate. March 01, 2026 PPC: lessons, legality, and the future of Panamanian ports. March 01, 2026 The planets aligned and Panama looked up. March 01, 2026 Panama takes a position in the Middle East crisis: condemns Iranian attacks. February 28, 2026 We know that the new concessions to be tendered for the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal are being structured under state-of-the-art parameters and requirements.
