Ilya Espino de Marotta took office January 1 as Deputy Administrator of the Panama Canal, making history as the first woman to ever hold the position. Mrs. Espino de Marotta began her career at the Canal in 1985 as the sole female engineer at its shipyard. She now works alongside more than 1,000 women and […]

Today, the Panama Canal celebrates two decades under Panamanian administration. While the waterway was already an important trade route and engineering marvel, its transfer to the Panamanian people at noon on December 31, 1999, set in motion a redefining period not only for the Panama Canal, but also Panama itself Over the next 20 years, […]

Panama on Tuesday marks two decades of control over the vital interoceanic Canal following its return by the United States, but worries over weak traffic and climate change loom. On December 31, 1999 at midday sharp, then-president Mireya Moscoso hoisted Panama’s red, blue and white flag over the Canal administration building for the first time. […]

The U.S. transferred operation of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians 20 years ago this week, a move that ultimately fueled the canal’s expansion and opened Houston for larger container ships bringing in consumer goods and outgoing tankers laden with products including liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. And now that larger ships are […]

    A free trade agreement between Israel and Panama entered into force on January 1, granting preferential market access for goods and aiming to eliminate trade barriers between the countries. The bilateral trade deal, the first between Panama and a Middle Eastern country, was signed On May 17, 2018, by Economy Minister Eli Cohen […]

President Erdogan’s Canal Istanbul would provide an alternative route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through western Istanbul It would effectively trap 8 million people on a new artificial island in a city notoriously prone to earthquake Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dream project of building a canal in Istanbul to rival those at […]

President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo denied today the privatization of the Institute of National Aqueducts and Sewers (IDAAN) and the Social Security Fund (CSS).   In statements to the press, Cortizo assured that his administration is working on the transformation and rescue of both public institutions so that they provide an efficient and sustainable service […]

The Sun Rise carrier transporting B.C. Ferries’ first two Island Class hybrid electric vessels has reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the Panama Canal. The carrier was positioned off the west coast of Costa Rica on its way north as of Friday. The new ferries left from Constanta, Romania, on Nov. 20. They are […]

Dan Mitchel writes in International Liberty According to bureaucrats at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, so-called tax havens are terrible and should be shut down. Their position is grossly hypocritical since they get tax-free salaries while pushing for higher taxes on everyone else, but not very surprising since the OECD’s membership is […]

Panama continues near the bottom of the  Gender Inequality Index (GDI)  with a value of 0.460, placing it at position 108 of 189 countries. Well below neighboring countries, such as Costa Rica (0.285) and Colombia (0.411), which occupy positions 61 and 94, respectively.   The inequality that exists between men and women is one of […]