Panama President Torrijos and U.S. Secretary of State Rice Hold Bilateral Talks in Panama City
PANAMA CITY, Dec 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Talks Held on Margins of "Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas" Ministerial Meeting
Sec. Rice Congratulates President Torrijos on Panama's Extraordinary Economic Growth and Improved Social Indicators on Poverty. Panamanian President Martin Torrijos and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in Panama City yesterday for bilateral talks on a number of issues of common interest between the two countries.
Their talks came on the heels of the inaugural ministerial meeting of the "Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas" (PPA) initiative held in Panama City earlier in the day, in which ministers of foreign affairs and commerce from Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the United States gathered to develop an agenda for promoting greater cooperation and broad-based economic growth in the Western Hemisphere, and ensuring that the benefits of increased free trade and open investments are more widely shared throughout their respective societies. (more)
Following their bilateral meeting Secretary Rice thanked President Torrijos for hosting the Pathways to Prosperity ministerial meetings. "It was a very successful opportunity to talk about how trade and investment and open markets come together in democratic countries to produce results for the people: better jobs, better health, better education, and indeed social justice," said the U.S. Secretary of State.
"I want to thank you and congratulate you too on the great progress that Panama has made during your presidency. We can see the extraordinary growth here in Panama City. We see the project that will expand the Canal. And I also want to congratulate you on the improvement in social indicators on poverty. I know that this is something that was dear to your heart when you became President, and it is very good that you have delivered so much for the Panamanian people. And again, Panama is an example of what can happen when trade and investment and policies for good governance come together to bring social progress for the people," she added.
President Torrijos acknowledged the significance of Secretary Rice's visit to Panama. "Today has been a great day, a day where we have addressed bilateral issues, issues related to free trade, which is important in order to create jobs, which in turn is also important in order to create a better quality of life for our people.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to say farewell on this, your last visit to Panama. And thank you for the excellent work that we have done together," he added.
Panama's economy has seen 23 consecutive quarters of economic growth, including an 11.5 percent growth in GDP in 2007. The country's economic growth had resulted in significant decreases in both the poverty and unemployment rates. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, Panama's poverty rate fell from 36.5 percent in 2001 to 28.5 percent in 2007, and extreme poverty (inability to fulfill most basic needs) decreased from 19.2 percent to 11.7 percent during the same period. Meanwhile, unemployment declined from 14 percent in 2001 to 6.4 percent in 2007.
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