CABEI meets in Panama with UK authorities

Panama City, December 01, 2021.- In order to identify investment opportunities and strengthen ties between Central America and the United Kingdom, the Executive President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) met in Panama with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Mr. Tim Stew, and the Trade Commissioner, Mr. Jonathan Knott.

During the discussions, CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, highlighted the Bank's interest in attracting a new high-quality partner such as the world’s fifth biggest economy, which would further improve CABEI's financial profile, which currently has the best credit rating in Latin America. 

"As CABEI, we have become the bridge of opportunities between the region and the world, and for this it has been necessary to create ties with high quality partners in other continents in addition to the Americas. Currently in Asia we have China Taiwan and South Korea, and in Europe we have Spain, so we are pleased to have these first approaches with authorities from the United Kingdom to invite them to be part of the Central American Bank," explained Mossi.

UK Trade Commissioner Jonathan Knott said: "I am pleased that the agreement is already bearing fruit, in the last year several Central American countries have benefited from UKEF's increased presence in Central America. At least £2.5 billion is now available for new business in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama and £1.5 billion for Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua".

He also expanded on the financial and technical support provided to the region for projects in science, innovation, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and the promotion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the interest in seeking more and better opportunities for economic, social and environmental development.

As part of the work agenda in Panama, President Mossi met with the Secretary of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Mr. Saleh Asvat, during which they analyzed opportunities in the PPP modality as a mechanism for progress that improves the quality of life of people, communities and institutions, making possible the diversification of the economy and contributing knowledge and technology for development.

Additionally, they reviewed the progress of the non-refundable Technical Cooperations approved during 2021, which seek to accelerate the execution of capital investment projects with the participation of the private sector, in order to contribute to the economic reactivation in Panama.

An important part of their work agenda were the conversations with Engineer Carlos Mosquera, general manager of Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica (ETESA), in which they discussed the progress of the electrical interconnection between Colombia and Panama, electromobility and support for other projects in the country's energy sector.