Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama president says he is improving regulatory climate.
Panama is open for business — but money launderers need not apply.
That was the message of Juan Carlos Varela, president of Panama, speaking with the Post on Thursday night at a party he hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, where he sipped on gourmet Panamanian coffee and feasted on his country’s rich cuisine.
Varela said he has been improving the regulatory climate since he assumed office three years ago. Panama took a beating with the leaking in 2016 of 11.5 million legal documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, detailing potential money fraud. Varela said it “wasn’t fair” to characterize the documents as the Panama Papers, a term popularized by the media.
The controversial documents were held by the Panamanian law firm and purportedly revealed personal financial information of wealthy persons and public officials globally.
Source: NY Post
Panama’s president says switching China ties not ‘checkbook diplomacy’.
Panama’s decision to ditch long-standing ties with self-ruled Taiwan and switch recognition to China had nothing to do with “checkbook diplomacy”, its president has told Chinese state television.
Panama established diplomatic relations with China in June in a major victory for Beijing, as it lures away the dwindling number of countries that have formal relations with the island China claims as its own.
Taiwan’s government said at the time it was sorry and angry over Panama’s decision, and that it would not compete with China in what it described as a “diplomatic money game”.
Source: Reuters
Book ahead to stay in these cocoa pod treehouses in Panama next summer.
If you spent the summers of your childhood climbing trees and building houses high in the branches, then this magical new retreat could be right up your alley. The design for these treehouses was modelled on a cocoa pod and they are planned for the Bocas del Toro archipelago in the west of Panama.
UK-based Baca Architects – who are behind the design – said they wanted something that could be built entirely from local materials. They told Lonely Planet: “The site includes a small cacao plantation [and] although the designs have evolved, the cocoa pod was the original inspiration. The cocoa pod is a sturdy enclosure that protects its precious cargo and this seemed a fitting analogy for the design.”
Source: Lonely Planet
Top 5 Things to Do in Chiriqui, Panama’s Western Wonderland
Panama is a small country that packs some of the most diverse terrain and wildlife in all of Central America. This means that each region of Panama is different, and each with its own flare and attraction for travel, as well as retiring and living in Panama. Chiriqui, Panama’s westernmost province, is a great example of this diversity, and on the top of many to-do lists for both people visiting and living in Panama. With so many things to see and do that you just can’t get anywhere else in the country, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5!
1. Boquete.
Clearly, this has to be at the top of the list, because when it comes down to it, the majority of all tourist and expat travel to Chiriqui is going straight to Boquete. Boquete is Panama’s picturesque mountain paradise that looks more like the Swiss Alps than Central America. Boquete has a cool climate, cute village for shopping/dining, and many outdoor excursions and activities to take part in. It’s also well known for coffee, and now, craft beer! Make sure to check out the local waterfalls and hikes while you’re there as well.
Source: International Relocation Firm Blog
