The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, during the Annual Dinner for Economic Freedom of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE), highlighted the order of the Panamanian macro-economy guaranteeing the degree of investment and lowering the country's risk, the result of the work of a government with greater robustness and strength, however, he highlighted that now it is time to further encourage the local economy. Mulino - before a hundred businessmen who attended the event, led by its president Giulia De Sanctis-les affirmed that the government will encourage the private sector to feel supported in a concrete and forceful way, a strategic alliance to sustain and generate more employment, one of the main focuses of the agenda for the remaining three years of administration. "We are creating the conditions to provide resources and support, so that the virtuous circle of greater production of goods generates more jobs, and these increase the power of consumption that generates more demand for goods. It will be the private sector, accompanied and with clear signals from the State, that will turn this wheel," he expressed. Accompanied by the first lady, Maricel Cohen de Mulino, the Panamanian president added that the best recipe for thousands of Panamanians to have money in their pockets is to generate genuine wealth, with investments, work and real opportunities. It is also important by putting resources into training, education and employment programs. “In the coming days, the Paid Internship Program will be launched, so that young people can have a job opportunity, and we will be advancing Artificial Intelligence as an indispensable tool for education,” he announced. President Mulino also referred to maintaining economic freedom, that which is achieved with work and defense, taking as a beginning the government's effort to get off the discriminatory lists. He thanked different sectors that came together to get off the list of money laundering and terrorist financing, and now the Law of Economic Substance that will open the exit door from the European list. He highlighted the proposal that placed Panama as an associate member of MERCOSUR, and his recent trip to Asunción, Paraguay, for the signing of the Agreement between Mercosur and the European Community, in the search for greater economic openness and opportunities for the region and the country. He said he is a defender of the open economy, something he has maintained as a professional and also as a president member of APEDE. President Mulino received a plaque of recognition after being the first president of this association to be elected president of Panama. "True economic freedom is achieved with less bureaucracy. And I am clear, I will not erase with the President's elbow, what I wrote with the hand of a liberal professional and defender of the open economy, therefore, we are focused not only on being competitive, but on being the efficient complement of the production of other countries," he expanded in his message. Giulia De Sanctis, during her speech, highlighted the 25 years of commemorating this dinner that focuses this year on how to build prosperity with freedom, responsibility and solid institutions. These, said the business leader, must be aimed at allowing each Panamanian to decide about their work, their investment and their life project. “Economic freedom without institutions is fragile,” said De Sanctis, recognizing the government's efforts in economic matters, the exit from the gray lists and the process of approaching OECD standards. This year, the event is developed with the theme "Challenges and opportunities of an uncertain geopolitics: The potential of Panama in Mercosur", in a wide-ranging debate. current affairs in a context of transformation of international trade, reconfiguration of global value chains and new economic alliances. The guest speaker was Nicolás Albertoni, former vice chancellor of Uruguay (2022-2025), researcher at the Georgetown University American Institute and one of the most recognized Latin American specialists in geopolitics, international trade and regional integration. Albertoni addressed issues of the new geopolitics and how it is transforming world trade, as well as the opportunities that Panama has to strengthen its strategic positioning through greater integration with Mercosur, the Comprehensive and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership and other platforms for international insertion.