Business chamber questions ‘erratic turn’ in mining company negotiations  

Panama’s Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (Cciap) said  Sunday that it is  urgent to redirect the negotiations with Minera Panama, focusing on win-win formulas, through which a fair balance is achieved that recognizes the State what it deserves and the company a benefit that takes into account “the conditions and risks associated with the activity that it developed.”

The Chamber’s  statement added: “Otherwise, we run the risk of annihilating an activity that represents 3.5% of Panama’s GDP, being at stake not only the investment that the State itself promoted but also the future of an economic activity that, well developed, can be instrumental for Panamanians.”

In January President Laurentino  Cortizo announced the signing of a new contract. However, company representatives reported that some issues were pending, such as the environment.

For the Chamber, the signing of the new contract would be “an important milestone for the Republic” because it is an economic activity that represents “a significant source of wealth for the country”, as well as for the forty thousand families that depend on the activity.

For this reason, they view with “concern the erratic turn” that the negotiations “necessary to formalize the agreement” have taken; putting aside the Panamanian State, which seeks to obtain the fair income that corresponds to it for its mineral resource; and on the other, a foreign company that, a decade ago, saw Panama as a safe port to invest, making the largest private foreign investment in the country’s history.”

More questions
 The Cciap indicated that understanding that the negotiations have been complex, the latest government statements have left more questions than answers about the future of the project and the consequences “both economic and reputational that the country could face if the deadline is met without having come to an agreement.”

On Friday, the Government announced that it will apply “alternative measures” for the operation of the mine if an agreement is not signed no later than December 14.