(Prensa.com) President of the United States (U.S.), Barack Obama, will welcome his Panamanian counterpart, Ricardo Martinelli, to the White House this coming April 28, after Washington announced that the last obstacles standing in the way of a bilateral FTA had been overcome.
“Among other key bilateral and regional issues, the presidents will discuss next steps with regard to the FTA,” said the White House in a statement.
This meeting – the first between Martinelli and Obama, will occur three weeks after the meeting held between Obama and Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, in which a plan to overcome the last obstacles to that bilateral FTA was announced.
On Monday, U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, announced that Panama had “fulfilled its commitment to actions” pending towards the approval of the TLC, after the Assembly of that country ratified an agreement to exchange tax information with the U.S., he said.
Obama wants to ratify the three pending FTAs – one with Colombia (pending since 2006), and the ones with Panama and South Korea (both pending since 2007), but has faced reluctance by his own Democratic Party, which controls the Senate.
Also on the agenda for the meeting between Obama and Martinelli, is a discussion on the progress of a security initiative and the fight against organized crime in Central America, said the White House.