Martinelli to join group welcoming Obama to Costa Rica.

President Ricardo Martinelli will travel to Costa Rica when US President Barack Obama visits there in May although Panama is not part of the group that invited him.

In a dialogue with foreign press correspondents, on Friday April 5,  Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Núñez Fábrega said that the visit of Obama to Costa Rica represents a "boost to the System of Central American Integration (SICA)", a sub regional organization that Panama aspires to join this year.
The US president will meet in San Jose with his Central American colleagues.
The Minister said that in July Panama will join the organization that was created in 1993.
The other members are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The Dominican Republic is a partner country and Mexico, Chile and Brazil are regional observers. Spain, Germany, Taiwan and Japan are extra-regional observers. This year it is intended to add Haiti as a partner country.