A group of Panamanian trade officials was in Canada's capital of Ottawa in the past week to start free trade agreement negotiations with the government of Canada. This first round of negotiations was prompted by a successful "exploratory process" which included a meeting in Ottawa in May and Panama City in July. The government of Canada also spent a month consulting with provinces, territories, businesses and industry associations in Canada to get their input on a potential deal.

For the Ambassador of Panama, Romy Vasquez, the negotiations represent the fruition of several years of work pushing for this agreement which is a dream she has had since her arrival in Canada in early 2005.


During the free trade talks Ms. Vasquez and her team found out that Panama and Canada have a similiar approach to weathering the current economic crisis since both countries have conservative banking institutions.  Due to the fact that Panama is primarily a service industry economy it won't be hit as hard as other countries, Ms. Vasquez said.  With a 11.4% percent growth rate last year and an expected growth rate of 9% this year, Panama does seem to be weathering the storm well.

This free trade agreement comes on the heels of an agreement on air travel between the two countries which has already been hammered out by former Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon.