I congratulate you, Sir, on your election to
preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth
session. We fully endorse your proposal to analyse the
central role of the United Nations in global
governance. The United Nations is the international
forum in which to exchange ideas and adopt measures
that strengthen the pillars upon which our governance
stands.
Panama’s geography has allowed my country to
serve as a bridge between and meeting point of the
most diverse cultures and civilizations. Thanks to the
discovery of our special privileged position in 1513
and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, today
we connect Europe, the Americas and the East. That is
how our story has been written. Five hundred years
later, we are still working for the benefit of the world’s
maritime commerce.
Our ethnic diversity is a symbol and example of
our national unity. Panama is committed to promoting
economic growth and social justice. We make possible
the peaceful coexistence of all ethnicities and creeds.
We Panamanians love peace, and we manage our canal
with scrupulous careful neutrality. Our foreign policy
is defined by respect, the defence and promotion of
democracy, human rights, and international peace and
international security, all within the framework of the
doctrine of human security.
Panama has played an active role in favour of the
international community at important United Nations
forums. Among these are the Security Council, the
Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights
Committee, and the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women. Our pacifism does not
21 10-54833
imply passivity in the face of situations that affect
international security and the governance of peoples.
Change is in the air all over the globe. People demand
even more of their public servants. Our political and
diplomatic activities are founded on the principles of
international cooperation and the strengthening of
global multilateralism.
Trafficking in drugs, weapons, human organs and
persons — associated with illegal migration — as well
as money-laundering, banditryism and terrorism are the
work of criminal organizations that seek to destabilize
our democracies. The trafficking and illegal possession
of weapons have a devastating effect on human
security and governance in our countries.
For Panama and the Central American region,
drugs are our weapons of mass destruction and are a
vital issue. Drug traffickers filter through our land and
sea borders, polluting our young people with their
poison. Additionally, our region is being used by
networks of human traffickers that steer mixed
migratory flows of persons from other continents
through our borders.
In the face of these challenges, my country and
the other members of the Central American Integration
System have decided to create a regional security
coordination centre. These regional efforts to fight
transnational organized crime, based in my country, are
already yielding encouraging results.
We understand that it is vital to work jointly to
improve the functioning of international institutions,
for the benefit of humanity. In this regard, I find it a
very positive sign for the region that President Porfirio
Lobo of Honduras is participating fully in this
Assembly. In order to count on a world that is more
stable and secure, we must set aside our differences.
Stability requires us to work together to strengthen
human security, both regionally and globally.
Globalization has entered a period of
convergence among the diverse various economies; this
will continue for some years. While the previous stage
of globalization lasted some 60 years, we believe that
the one that began in 1990 will conclude its
readjustments by mid-century. It is also necessary to
note that as a result of this process of convergence, we
have suffered during the past two years the effects of a
significant crisis.
This global crisis demands newer and better
forms of government for our societies. This global
crisis demands the expansion of our markets and better
management of our intergovernmental relations. In this
context, we appreciate the efforts towards developing
the exchange of goods, workers, tourists and
investments across the China Straits, which offer a new
thrust to achieving the full potential of our trade
relations with that region.
For its part, Panama is also expanding its trade
relations through the negotiation of free trade
agreements with Peru and Colombia. We are also
actively pursuing free trade agreements negotiated with
Canada, and the United States of America and an
association agreement between Central America and
the European Union. Accordingly, I wish to take this
opportunity to ask for the support of all Governments
involved, with a view toward their approval and
ratification of all these treaties.
We are on the threshold of an era of economic
growth and opportunity in Latin America. Thus, we
renew our commitment to a more just and inclusive
free trade that offers economic opportunities and
prosperity to all our peoples. With change and reform
sweeping the region, we have more than enough
reasons to promote a new age of cooperation and
working together. Together, we can seize this
opportunity and successfully face our common
challenges.
Panama enjoys very healthy and strong relations
with its main partner, the United States of America — a
partner that is committed to our region’s success. Such
an engaged partner is crucial for the region’s success.
On both trade and security issues, the United States is
and always has been an ally and a willing friend.
Additionally, we understand that for the
comprehensive development of trade relations and the
strengthening of our economies, more measures are
required to ensure effective tax collection. To this end,
Panama has signed agreements to avoid double
taxation and prevent tax evasion. This is part of a
national strategy that seeks to strengthen transparency
and the competitiveness of our country’s international
services. We have already signed agreements with
Mexico, Barbados and Portugal, and a while ago with
the State of Qatar. We have also concluded negotiations
with Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France,
Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.
10-54833 22
We want to offer the Panamanian experience as
an example to the world. It is an economic story of
reform at home along with strong international trade
and business relations across the region; these have had
excellent results and have proved fruitful.
The Government of Panama welcomes the
adoption of resolution 65/1, entitled “Keeping the
promise: — united to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals”, and, at the same time, we
reaffirm our commitment to that document.
In a little less than a year in Government, we
have developed structural reforms and programmes to
meet the needs of our people, focusing particularly on
society’s most vulnerable groups. Among these
programmes, allow me to highlight one that consists of
grants to elderly people who lack retirement funds or
pensions. Additionally, we have established a system of
universal scholarships to support our young people
with a monthly stipend from the first to the twelfth
grades. Whether the student attends a public school or
a private school with modest tuition fees, the State is
reducing the dropout rate and strengthening
relationships among teachers, parents and students.
Moreover, in December 2009, we decreed the
highest largest minimum wage increase in the past
50 years. We are thus helping workers in the private
and public sectors who were earning very low wages.
Additionally, we established a solidarity fund to assist
Panamanians of limited means in buying their first
home.
Panama will invest more than $13 billion in
public infrastructure over the next five years. This
effort will include the building of hospitals, the
development of roads, the expansion of Tocumen
International Airport, the building of other airports, and
the establishment of the MetroBus, as well as the
construction of a modern subway system in Panama
City. That first subway line will raise the quality of life
for Panamanian families, who will thus have more time
to share and strengthen family values.
These projects, together with the expansion of the
Canal and the responsible and sustainable exploitation
of our natural resources, will cost more than $20
billion in the coming years and will generate thousands
of jobs that the country so sorely needs. All of these
public works projects will be developed with the
highest environmental standards and will contribute to
a more dynamic economy for Panama and the region as
a whole.
The theme chosen for this debate could not be
more appropriate; we concur that the United Nations
has a calling to play a central role in global
governance. To that end, we need to deepen the process
of reforms begun within the Organization. Panama is
committed to making its contribution to this process,
placing its geographical position and its logistics
infrastructure at the service of the Organization.
In this regard, my Government has two key
projects, namely, the establishment of a United Nations
inter-agency centre for Latin America and the
Caribbean and the creation of a regional logistics
centre for humanitarian assistance, both to be located
in Panama. The first will promote more coherence and
synergy between all regional offices, with greater
efficiency in the use of resources. The second will
improve the regional capacity to respond to natural
disasters and humanitarian crises, and will be the site
of warehouses for the United Nations, and the Red
Cross and Red Crescent.
We reaffirm our conviction that the United
Nations is the international forum for the exchange of
ideas and for adopting measures that strengthen the
pillars upon which world governance rests. The United
Nations is also a forum of goodwill where nations can
work together on shared goals. In our region that
means jobs, opportunity and security for our peoples. It
also means modernizing economies, reforming the
Government, and ensuring social well-being.
Panama is a good example of this success. Today,
my country reaffirms its belief in and solidarity with
the United Nations system. I say this unambiguously
and with great certainty. We are fully prepared and
willing to offer all the peoples of the planet the best
possible service and utility and, as a product of that, to
develop our citizens. That is Panama’s mission, and we
will accomplish it.