Panama, Colombia sign free trade agreement
Patton Moreno & Asvat | October 15 2013
Panama, Colombia sign free trade agreement
Ivette Martinez and Khatiya Asvat
Panama has signed a free trade agreement with Colombia making a step forward to join the Pacific Alliance. The agreement was signed by Panama’s Minister of Trade and Industry Ricardo Quijano and Colombia’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Sergio Diaz Granados.
The Colombian Minister of Trade said the free trade agreement, the negotiation process of which was launched in 2009, represented an important achievement as the two nations have an annual trade of $2.8Bn. The agreement will provide clear rules for their trade exchanges and help improve the business environment.
The agreement paves the way for Panama to become a full member of the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American mechanism for economic and free trade integration grouping Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
