UK role in Panama combines trade and education

THE DEVELOPMENT and expansion of educational programs for Panamanians, along with expanding trade ties, is one the top priorities for the British Embassy in Panama, which introduces a flavor of serendipity into a decision of a Cambridge graduate with a doctorate in anthropology to check the Internet before making a final career decision.

Ian Collard, the current British ambassador, was the graduate who, in 2002, as an alternative to a life in academe, completed an exhaustive Foreign Office questionnaire. The results gave a clear indication that he was suited and qualified for a future in diplomacy.

The path once chosen led him to postings in Washington DC, dealing with foreign policy issues, including Africa and Latin America, and to the UN Security Council in New York. It was there that serendipity surfaced again. A lifetime Tottenham Hotspur supporter, he was introduced to a Spurs Supporters Club in the heart of the city, where fans gathered to watch televised games. There he met Tamara, another Spurs fan who had herself studied at Oxford. It was a perfect start to a relationship that led to marriage. The couple have four daughters, for whom the ambassadorial residence is their family home.
Perhaps Ian’s most unusual, and unrepeatable assignment was before, and during the 2012 London Olympics and Para-Olympics, arguably the most successful ever staged, where he became part of the massive security operation. The smooth running of the event, free of security breaches was, he says, due to the advance contingency planning and preparation, with around the clock staffing. There was Plan B, backed by plans C and D and right through the alphabet covering every possible hiccup. It was an experience unlikely to be repeated during his lifetime and one that he and his Foreign Office colleagues are justly proud of. His only twinge of regret: that his team’s tireless work at HQ meant they were like most of the world, TV spectators.
But that wealth of planning experience is serving him in good stead in Panama, the regional hub for British economic and commercial diplomacy.
With the departure of HSBC from the local scene, Britain’s place as the pre-eminent investor in Panama is less certain, although with Cable & Wireless and London and Regional (Panama Pacifico) continuing to play major roles along with a host of other established corporations moving directly from the UK, or transferring operations from other Latin American countries, it is still among the front runners. A recently published report highlighted the role that Panama Pacifico has played in attracting companies from around the world, contributing over $700 million dollars to Panama’s economy since 2009, plus spin offs like car home and furnishing purchases by newly arrived executives.
The embassy is assisting companies with proven expertise and track records to establish links for projects connected with the Canal Expansion, for roads, bridges, logistics, design, engineering, urban development.
There are also pushes underway to increase retail visibility and fashion sales.
Allied to business development there is a parallel thrust for the expansion of educational programs covering many areas from vocational training in the customer service sector to scholarship awards and the paving of the way for British universities and colleges providing much needed technical expertise.
Two British owned schools in Panama, King’s College and Knightsbridge Schools International continue to expand.
King’s, at the request of Panama’s Ministry of Education and in collaboration with the Embassy, provides a course in teaching skills for Panamanian teachers.
While all this is going on, the UK Embassy is being re-configured to accommodate a 100 percent growth in staff in recent years and a new reception facility is being constructed at the residence.
With so many balls to juggle Ambassador Collard needs all the planning skills that he so successfully honed at the London Olympics.