Martinelli calls for US-Panama natural gas deal

PRESIDENT Ricardo Martinelli raised the need for the development of "clean energy” with the heads of state of Central American Integration System, who met with President Barack Obama in Costa Rica Friday May 3.

"If you have expensive and inefficient power, the cost of products increases," said Martinelli.
Martinelli proposed to Obama, who was paying his first visit to Central America , that the two countries work on a system where Panama could buy cheap natural gas from the US.
Martinelli said that the meeting was important to deal with the problems that concern the countries of the region, such as drug trafficking and public safety.
The event included presidents Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Porfirio Lobo (Honduras), Mauricio Funes (El Salvador), Otto Pérez Molina (Guatemala), Danilo Medina (Dominican Republic); as well as representatives and foreign ministers of the region.
The Panamanian delegation was composed of Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Núñez Fábrega, and Panama’s ambassador in Costa Rica, José Javier Mulino,