It is also a slight, but certain change of tone in the way Panama has addressed the issue since December last year, when President Laurentino Cortizo ordered the halt of operations at Cobre Panama following the parties’ failure to agree on the terms for a new contract.
“We have advanced,” Alfaro said after an event to inaugurate the new board of the Panamanian exporters association (APEX) in Panama City.
The minister noted the parties will continue negotiating within the framework of a free trade agreement between Canada and Panama and international arbitration rules.
“I prefer to see the glass half full (…) I believe there’s an opportunity to agree on some legal discrepancies that still remain regarding the wording of the contract. I hope the company understands that the government’s position isn’t just a whim,” Alfaro told journalists.
The main bone of contention centres on taxes and royalties the Canadian miner…
