The Government of Panama included Peru and added other modifications to a migratory program known as "friendly nations" in order to facilitate the arrival of investments to the Central American country, mired in a serious economic crisis due to the effects of the global pandemic.

The inclusion of Peru in that program coincides with the victory in its presidential elections of Pedro Castillo and the constant arrival of significant amounts of money from the bank accounts of individuals and legal entities in the Andean country in Panama, according to sources in the banking system informed EFE.

The Executive informed this Monday that with the changes introduced in the program, nationals of friendly nations will be able to request a provisional residence permit in Panama, valid for two years, for work reasons, investments in a property and a fixed-term deposit.

The new decree starting 5th August 2021, the Government explained, "indicates that a temporary residence may be chosen with a real estate investment of $ 200,000 or a fixed-term account for the same amount."

"To opt for permanent residence, applicants must apply to the qualified investor program, regulated by Decree 722 of 2020, which specifies that foreigners must invest in real estate for a minimum of $ 300,000 during the first 24 months" of stay in the country.

The measure is "in accordance with the current needs of the country, to incorporate new investment modalities that promote the generation of economic income by applicants," the government said in a statement.

The Executive added that he included Peru, "which also maintains friendly, professional, economic investment relations with the Republic of Panama, contributing to national economic development."

The list of "Friendly Nations" is made up of fifty nations that "maintain friendly, professional, economic and investment relations" with Panama, which therefore grants it certain migratory facilities.

Among the "Friendly Countries" are Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

INCLUSION OF PERU

The inclusion of Peru is announced after a Panamanian trade mission headed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry (Mici), Ramón Martínez, traveled to the Andean country last week "in search of foreign investment for the reactivation" of the Panamanian economy, which collapsed by 17.9% in 2020 and by 8.5% in the first quarter of this year.

Within the framework of that visit, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Panamanian investment promotion agency ProPanamá and the Lima Chamber of Commerce and other "important alliances were established to consolidate efforts to attract Peruvian investments" to the Central American country, reported the Mici.

According to data from the Lima Chamber of Commerce, the commercial exchange between Peru and Panama between January and May of this year amounted to 163 million dollars, in a trade balance in favor of the Andean country with more than 144 million dollars in exports to the Central American nation.

"Panama is the first Central American country with which Peru signed, in 2011, a Free Trade Agreement (TCL) and that allows the entry of products from both countries with zero tariffs," said the Lima Chamber.

SOURCE: EFE