As part of its annual visit to consult and evaluate member states, the International Monetary Fund has sent a five person mission to the Republic of Panama from the 8th through the 23rd of November. The mission will meet with government official and leaders in the business, banking and private enterprise sectors to obtain an overview of the government’s plans, future opportunities and Panama’s current situation.
The mission is headed by Mr. Wayne Lewis, Chief of IMF mission to Panama and deputy Chief of the IMF for South and Central America. Other members of the mission are Mr. Mario Dehesa, Pablo Druck, André Faria and Eric Varreydt. The first meeting was celebrated on Monday morning at the offices of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and was presided by Vice Minister of Economy, Dr. Hector Alexander with the participation of the Director of the Public Policy Technical Unit, Mr. David Saied.
In the afternoon, the IMF mission met with a larger number of staff from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, including the Directorates of Public Credit, Treasury and Budget, to exchange methodological information on the fiscal deficit.
The visit is part of the compliance requirements of Article IV of the IMF´s Constitution that establishes a process for annual consultations with member states on economic and policy issues, balance of trade patterns such as the impact of higher petroleum prices on country, fiscal and public debt matters and social progress.
The IMF mission is undertaken regardless of whether the member country has or does not have a memorandum of understanding with the IMF on public policy matters. In the case of Panama, there is no program currently structured with the IMF:
The mission has programmed meeting with several public entities, including the top executives of the Contraloria General de la Republica, the Banco Nacional de Panama, the Superintendent of Banks, the Social Security Administration, the Panama Canal Authority, the Interoceanic Regional Authority, the Panamanian Tourist Bureau (IPAT), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Labor and the National Securities Commission. There are also plans to meet with the United Nations Development Program staff in Panama, important local banks, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama, the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE) and the consulting firm Inversiones y Desarrollo, S.A. (INDESA).