Martinelli calls emergency meeting to discuss rising fuel costs

Only one day after the archbishop of PanamaJosé Domingo Ulloa called for more dialogue on issues of national importance, President, Ricardo Martinelli, sent out invitations to an emergency  meeting over the escalating cost of fuel.

Among the invitees to the presidential palace on Monday (May 25) afternoon were the National Business Council (Conep) and the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) to discuss rising fuel and its effect on the cost of living said the State Secretariat of Communication. .

According to  a press release the Martinelli sent the invitation "as a sign of his policy of extensive consultation seeks to solve the problems of the population." 
 The President decided to convene "an emergency meeting with opposition groups, business associations and government to find alternatives and create a plan to cushion the economic impact that affects us all," said the release.
 It quotes Martinelli as saying: "Trying to ignore that there is a rise in the cost of living due to the impact of rising global oil prices would be irresponsible."
Also invited were  heads of banks and the director of the Consumer Protection and Competition Authority, Pedro Meilan.