Chamber of Commerce Europe - Central America |
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Now that Covid is almost behind us and the situation in Europe's granary is shaking up international trade relations, Euracen is inviting entrepreneurs and companies in Belgium and Luxembourg to take a closer look at expansion and investment opportunities in the countries of Central America.
We have many direct conversations with the Ambassadors and staff of Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. All those countries are working very hard to improve their future but often both the government and private players have not (yet) found "matching partners" or possible investors to realize their projects. This way too we are aware of the nature and scope of many projects at the earliest possible stage and certainly before their official announcement.
As a Chamber of Commerce, we constantly draw the attention of all Ambassadors and the representatives of the business communities in their home countries not only to the high added value many companies in Belgium and Luxembourg have to offer, but also to their interest and willingness to invest in public or private projects.
Those who are or become members of Euracen probably do so because of a certain closeness with one or more countries in the Region or in the hope that Euracen can open doors that could boost their international expansion. Therefore, we would like to take advantage of the summer months to map the activities of everyone who is or will be a member of our Chamber, so that we can use this portfolio to defend and promote your interests to all the representatives of the Central American countries. Euracen has also built up a fine network of contacts during Covid in terms of grants and potential investors.
Finally, on 27 June, we will hold our first General Assembly since 2019 where we especially want to look forward with you to what more Euracen can do for you. That AG will take place at 18h30 in "Cercle Gaulois" (rue de la Loi 5 rue de la Loi, right opposite the Parliament). This AG will be followed by our annual "Ambassadors Dinner" starting at 19h30 also at ‘Cercle Gaulois”.
Please look out for the official invitation to both events, yet do not hesitate to contact me if you want more information (M +32 475 443 150 & president@euracen.eu)
Wish you all a safe and interesting summer months!
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PRESIDENT |
Erwin De Weerdt |
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Міnіѕtеr оf Еduсаtіоn, Сulturе, Ѕсіеnсе, аnd Тесhnоlоgу, Frаnсіѕ Fоnѕеса rерrеѕеntеd Веlіzе аt thе Еduсаtіоn Wоrld Fоrum hеld thіѕ wееk іn Lоndоn. Тhе Еduсаtіоn Wоrld Fоrum іѕ thе lаrgеѕt gаthеrіng оf еduсаtіоn аnd ѕkіllѕ mіnіѕtеrѕ. Тhе thеmе fоr thіѕ уеаr’ѕ fоrum wаѕ “Еduсаtіоn: buіldіng fоrwаrd; ѕtrоngеr, bоldеr, bеttеr”.
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Міnіѕtеr оf Еduсаtіоn, Сulturе, Ѕсіеnсе, аnd Тесhnоlоgу, Frаnсіѕ Fоnѕеса rерrеѕеntеd Веlіzе аt thе Еduсаtіоn Wоrld Fоrum hеld thіѕ wееk іn Lоndоn. Тhе Еduсаtіоn Wоrld Fоrum іѕ thе lаrgеѕt gаthеrіng оf еduсаtіоn аnd ѕkіllѕ mіnіѕtеrѕ. Тhе thеmе fоr thіѕ уеаr’ѕ fоrum wаѕ “Еduсаtіоn: buіldіng fоrwаrd; ѕtrоngеr, bоldеr, bеttеr”.
“Тhе Fоrum rерrеѕеntеd а unіquе орроrtunіtу tо lіѕtеn аnd lеаrn. То ехсhаngе іdеаѕ аnd ѕtrаtеgіеѕ,” Fоnѕеса ѕаіd. Тhе Веlіzе dеlеgаtіоn іnсludеd Міnіѕtеr оf Нumаn Dеvеlорmеnt, Fаmіlіеѕ, аnd Іndіgеnоuѕ Реорlеѕ Аffаіrѕ Dоlоrеѕ Ваldеrаmоѕ Gаrсіа, Сhіеf Ехесutіvе Оffісеr Dіаn Маhеіа, аnd Сhіеf Еduсаtіоn Оffісеr Yоlаndа Gоngоrа. “Wе lооk fоrwаrd tо uѕіng thе іdеаѕ аnd lеѕѕоnѕ ѕhаrеd аѕ wеll аѕ thе раrtnеrѕhірѕ fоrgеd, tо іmрrоvе оur оwn еduсаtіоn ѕуѕtеm,” Fоnѕеса аddеd.
Оnе hundrеd аnd twеlvе mіnіѕtеrѕ frоm аrоund thе wоrld аttеndеd thе еvеnt.
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Nextern will Launch MedTech Operations in Costa Rica
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Multinational MedTech, U.S. - based company, confirmed its arrival in Costa Rica. Over the coming months, the company will establish operations in La Lima Free Zone, in Cartago. In addition to manufacturing the company's signature medical devices, it will also house a design, research, and engineering team involved in new product creation. Likewise, it will develop improvements to existing devices...
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Two Evergo stations for electric vehicles open in Cana Bay
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This initiative contributes to the common purpose of promoting and accelerating the sustainable development of the favorite tourist area of the DR through the installation of the first two charging stations for electric vehicles in Cana Bay, one at the beach club and the other at the Racquet Club, to cover most of the real estate promotions that are being developed within its facilities.
The launch of the new Evergo stations makes available to Cana Bay members and visitors an exclusive space where they can recharge their electric vehicles while enjoying the hotel’s facilities and services.
“We are very pleased to be able to inaugurate the first two charging stations for electric vehicles in Cana Bay, thanks to the alliance we have with Evergo, with whom we share the need to conserve natural resources and promote actions such as electric mobility, which help keep the Dominican Republic as a leading tourist destination worldwide. Thanks to Evergo and CEPM for giving us the opportunity to collaborate with us in this extraordinary project, which undoubtedly improves the environment and the quality of the space in which we live,” said Evagrio Sánchez, president of Cana Bay.
Oscar San Martín, general manager of InterEnergy Systems, the company that operates Evergo, said that “with the commitment of allies such as Cana Bay, we are committed to a more sustainable development of tourism through electric mobility, a work that we do as a team with those who daily join our Evergo network, the largest and most sophisticated in the country.” Aware of the importance of electric mobility to guarantee sustainable tourism, Evergo has inaugurated, together with its allies, more than a hundred charging stations in the province of La Altagracia, the main tourist center in the country.
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Latin America urges US to reduce plastic waste exports to region
Environmental organisations across Latin America have called on the US to reduce plastic waste exports to the region, after a report found the US had doubled exports to some countries in the region during the first seven months of 2020.
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The US is the world’s largest plastic waste exporter, although it has dramatically reduced the overall amount it exports since 2015, when China – previously the top importer – said it “no longer wanted to be the world’s rubbish dump” and began imposing restrictions. Elsewhere around the world imports are rising, and not least in Latin America, with its cheap labour and close proximity to the US. More than 75% of imports to the region arrive in Mexico, which received more than 32,650 tons (29,620 metric tonnes) of plastic waste from the US between January and August 2020.
El Salvador was second, with 4,054 tons, and Ecuador third, with 3,665 tons, according to research carried out by the Last Beach Cleanup, an environmental advocacy group based in California. While hazardous waste imports are subject to tariffs and restrictions, they are seldom enforced and plastic waste intended for recycling – which until January this year was not considered hazardous under international law – that enters importing countries can often end up as landfill, according to a researchers with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.
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Cleanup crews trap plastic on Guatemalan river to protect ocean
By Luis Echeverria
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RIO LAS VACAS, Guatemala, June 9 (Reuters)
Plastic bottles and mounds of trash lap onto the shores of a once pristine beach in a Honduran fishing village. It comes from neighboring Guatemala, carried down from a heavily polluted river. Guatemala's Rio Motagua runs from the edge of the country's capital, Guatemala City, out to the Caribbean Sea. What once was a roaring river slows to a trickle in some areas, choked by trash. "Everywhere you look, the mountains, the forest, the coastline, it's absolutely stunning... to me it was very shocking to see (the pollution)," said Boyan Slat, the founder of The Ocean Cleanup. Slat and his team are in a fight against time to trap the trash, estimated to total around 20,000 tonnes a year, before it reaches the sea.
Garbage and plastic bottles float on Las Vacas river considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world, in the municipality of Chinautla, where the Ocean Cleanup NGO is testing a device to contain the garbage that ends up in the Atlantic Ocean, in Guatemala City , Guatemala June 8, 2022.
"(This) is probably the most important river in the world when it comes to plastic pollution," Slat said, with the river currently contributing to about 2% of the world's total plastic emissions to oceans, according to his organization. The issue stems largely from a tributary of the Rio Motagua, known as Rio Las Vacas, which is straddled by an urban landfill north of Guatemala City and also suffers from unlicensed waste dumping, according to The Ocean Cleanup.
The organization has now installed a chain-link fence spanning the width of the Rio Las Vacas, creating a dam of sorts to stop the trash before it reaches the trunk of river. While not yet fully operational, the fence could be key to intercepting the plastic, according to The Ocean Cleanup. However, Slat points out that a long-term solution lies in proper waste management. "If we can stop (the plastic) here, it's going to be a major success for the oceans," Slat said.
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Honduran economic zones in ‘limbo’ after government repeal
By Marlon González, AP
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Tegucigalpa — A plan to create special self-governing zones for foreign investors in Honduras has been thrown into limbo with the new government’s repeal of a law many criticized as surrendering sovereignty.
The zones were inspired by libertarian and free-market thinkers as a way to draw foreign investment to the impoverished country. They not only were free from import and export taxes, but could set up their own internal forms of government, as well as courts, security forces, schools and even social security systems. They were authorized by a constitutional amendment and an enabling law passed in 2013.
Critics were worried that the zones could become nearly independent statelets and President Xiomara Castro, who took office in January, campaigned against the law. On Monday, she signed a measure passed by Honduras’ Congress to repeal it — though the permission for the zones still remains in the constitution. The zones — known as ZEDEs in Spanish — had been promoted by her predecessor as president, Juan Orlando Hernández.
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ICJ: Colombia must stop activity in Nicaraguan EEZ waters
Ruling by the UN’s top court caps decades of dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia over maritime borders.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Colombia must “immediately cease” patrolling and trying to control fishing activities and maritime research in parts of the western Caribbean off the coast of Nicaragua.
The judges at the United Nations’ top court in The Hague said on Thursday the waters are within Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in a ruling that caps decades of dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia over maritime borders. The ruling comes after the ICJ, in 2012, said Nicaragua’s maritime borders included a swath of disputed Caribbean Sea territory extending 200 nautical miles (370km or 230 miles) from its coastline.
Following that ruling, Colombia said it would no longer recognise the court’s jurisdiction on border disputes. A year later, Nicaragua filed a new case accusing Colombia of doing just that.Nicaragua also alleged Colombia had threatened to use force to back up its claims in the oil and fish-rich region. At the time, Nicaragua’s lawyers also asked the ICJ to rule that Colombia should pay compensation including for “the threat or use of force by the Colombian navy against Nicaraguan fishing boats”.
Colombia denied the accusations, saying its presence in the region was “due to other imperatives”, including the fight against drug trafficking and international maritime. For its part, Colombia accused Nicaragua of interfering with Indigenous fishing rights, with the loss of fishing grounds that resulted from the ICJ’s 2012 ruling particularly affecting the Raizal people, an English and Creole-speaking community who are mainly descendants of slaves abducted from Africa, Colombia’s lawyers said.
Nicaragua first took Colombia to the ICJ over the century-long dispute in maritime borders in 2001. Countries are obliged to implement the ICJ’s judgements, which are final and cannot be appealed.
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Reactivated tourism gives fillip to Panama economy
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The reactivation of tourism in Panama has provided a total economic impact for the country's economy of $500,492,130 from January 2021 to April 2022. reports the Tourism Promotion Fund, (Promtur).
"Agreements with organizations such as Expedia, Hotelbeds, Copa Airlines, Air Europa, Edreams, Maxitravel, Dream and Travel, among others are a fundamental tool of our strategy to ensure the generation of demand, through the sale of the destination in the priority markets that are defined in the Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism of the ATP," said Fernando Fondevila, general director of PROMTUR Panama.
Through these agreements, which include sales and marketing actions aimed at both the final consumer and the retailer, Panama's exposure in target markets was maximized. The manager also highlighted the importance of alliances such as that of Hotelbeds, the world's largest bed bank, which is one of the most important agreements, in terms of its scope and the economic impact on the country. "For 16 months Hotelbeds has continuously promoted Panama's hotels, tourism products, and services to travel agents, tour operators and suppliers that are part of the network," he said. The agreement also contributed to positioning Panama as a tourist destination of interest to more than 60,000 buyers in the travel sector; and the progressive reactivation of demand from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Argentina.
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Economic Snapshot for Central America |
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GDP growth will expand in 2022
The regional economy will expand at a more moderate pace this year due to a tougher base effect and the fallout of the war in Ukraine. Higher commodity prices will drive up inflation, weighing on consumer spending and remittance inflows. Tighter financial conditions will further dampen activity. However, lower unemployment levels should provide some support to spending.
Inflation to rose in 2022
Preliminary data showed that inflation rose from 6.5% in March to 6.9% in April, reading the highest level since our aggregate records began in May 2019. The reading came on the back of greater consumer price pressures in all countries with available data, barring El Salvador. Higher energy prices have driven up inflation, which is forecast to remain elevated this year.
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Economic Outlook
Growth clocked 14.8% in Q4 2021, up from Q3’s 13.8%, mainly on the back of a faster expansion in the services sector. Meanwhile, industrial activity fell sharply as a drought affected hydroelectric production. Turning to Q1 2022, the tourism sector continued its rebound as the number of visitors nearly doubled from January to March. However, the trade deficit deepened in the first three months of the year due to higher imports of machinery and increasing costs for fertilizer and fuels. Moving to Q2, the removal of all Covid-19 restrictions from April should be further boosting tourism inflows and supporting domestic activity. Moreover, in early May, the government signed an agreement with Mexico to improve infrastructure and transport links and increase trade between the two countries, boding well for momentum ahead.
Economic Growth
GDP growth in 2022 will likely slow from its 2021 rally as the favorable base effect fades. That said, the tourism sector should stimulate activity in light of looser travel restrictions, as should solid private consumption driven by gains in employment. However, a higher import bill, rising inflation and global demand uncertainty cloud the outlook somewhat. FocusEconomics panelists forecast GDP to grow 5.8% in 2022, which is down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month’s forecast. For 2023, the panel sees the economy expanding 3.8%.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Belize
Bd Brand Whitlock 87-93, 6th floor 1200 Brussels T +32 2732 62 04f
HEM Ambassador Alexis Rosado was unexpectadly called back to Belize.
Mr Urbina Raineldo is ad interim in charge of current affairs.
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Economic Outlook
After growing robustly last year, growth seemed to slow in Q1 2022. Economic activity contracted in every month of Q1 2022 in seasonally-adjusted month-on-month terms due to the worst Covid-19 wave since the start of the pandemic, rising inflation and increasingly tighter monetary policy. Turning to Q2, growth is likely slowing further: Consumer spending is probably being hampered by the ongoing inflationary wave, while rising production costs may be hampering output as well. That said, a recovering tourist sector and a region-leading vaccination scheme will offer some support to activity. In politics, former Finance Minister Rodrigo Chaves was sworn into office on 8 May, marking the start of a challenging term. While Chaves initially promised to boost growth, lower the cost of living and push for political reforms, the current economic landscape may render these goals unfeasible.
Economic Growth
Growth should moderate in 2022 compared to 2021, owing to a fading base effect, economic slowdown among major trading partners, and higher inflation and interest rates. Further downside risks to the outlook stem from potential new Covid-19 variants, a fragmented parliament, and sharp monetary tightening at home and in the U.S. FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 3.5% in 2022, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 3.1% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Costa Rica Avenue Louise 489 Louizalaan 1050 Brussels T +32 2 640 55 41
Recent elections in Costa Rica caused a change of Government.
HEM Ambassador Sergio Alfaro Salas has served his term and will return to Costa Rica in July.
No replacement has been announced yet.
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Economic Outlook
After the economy recorded double-digit growth last year, activity appeared to ease in Q1 2022, in part due to a tougher base effect. Economic activity moderated in annual terms in January–March amid a record-breaking wave of Covid-19 cases in January and associated restrictions. Moreover, a year-on-year fall in remittances and elevated inflation in Q1 should have dented private spending in the quarter. That said, the scrapping of all pandemic-related restrictions for citizens in late February should have cushioned household consumption’s fall. In addition, the tourism sector remained vibrant, with annual growth in visitor arrivals in Q1 averaging 139%. Turning to Q2, the U.S. reduced its alert level for travel to the Dominican Republic in April, which should bolster tourism further ahead, as should the removal of all Covid-19 restrictions for tourists in the same month.
Economic Growth
The economy is set to grow at a slower pace in 2022 due to a less favorable base effect, a normalization of economic activity and elevated commodity prices. Nonetheless, the country is expected to be one of the region’s top performers. The removal of all Covid-19 restrictions will boost domestic demand, while a buoyant tourism sector will also drive growth. FocusEconomics panelists see the economy growing 5.1% in 2022, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and expanding 4.5% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of the Dominican Republic Avenue Louise 231, 2nd floor 1050 Brussels T +32 2 346 49 35
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Economic Outlook
After the economy grew at a softer pace in the fourth quarter of 2021, it is expected to have cooled further in the first quarter of this year. Economic activity contracted year on year in January. Meanwhile, household spending was likely constrained by softer growth in remittances and rising inflation amid the fallout of the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, annual growth rebounded in February, as industrial production, and retail and wholesale trade, swung back into expansions. Additionally, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed slightly as imports lost considerable steam, hinting at a softer drag from the external sector. In other news, the country failed to issue a bitcoin-denominated bond worth USD 1 billion in mid-March. This, combined with stalled debt relief talks with the IMF, increased commodity prices and ballooning fiscal deficit, is increasing concerns over a default.
Economic Growth
A less favorable base effect and the fallout from the war in Ukraine will see the economy grow at a reduced speed this year. However, domestic demand should benefit from a rollback of restrictive measures and solid remittance inflows. That said, the balance of risks is skewed to the downside amid heightened debt and fiscal sustainability concerns. Our panelists see GDP expanding 2.3% in 2022, which is down 0.2 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 2.0% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of El Salvador Rue de la Science 14A Wetenschapsstraat, 2nd floor 1040 Brussels T +32 733 04 85
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Economic Outlook
Economic growth cooled in the fourth quarter of last year on the back of a softer expansion in domestic demand. Moreover, the external sector’s performance also moderated, as exports eased more strongly than imports. Turning to the first quarter of this year, economic activity is likely to have continued to slow. On average, growth in the monthly economic activity index moderated in January–February, hitting a one-year low in February. However, the data still pointed to a robust pace of growth. Household consumption in the quarter should have shifted into a lower gear. Remittances expanded at a more moderate pace, while inflationary forces intensified and reached a 10-month high in March amid the fallout of the war in Ukraine, which sent energy prices spiraling. Turning to the current quarter, remittances in USD reached an all-time high in April, boding well for private consumption.
Economic Growth
The economy is set to expand at a slower pace this year. This is partly due to a tougher base of comparison, however. Softer Covid-19 restrictions and robust inflows of remittances are expected to support activity. The balance of risks is skewed to the downside, however, amid lingering pandemic-related uncertainty and the war in Ukraine. FocusEconomics panelists estimate the economy to grow 3.7% in 2022, which is down 0.3 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and to expand 3.2% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Guatemala Avenue Winston Churcill 185 Winston Churchilllaan 1180 Brussels T +32 2 345 90 58
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Economic Outlook
Following softer economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year, activity should have continued to ease in the first quarter of this year. The economy expanded at a softer clip on average in the opening two months, coming in at a one-year low in February. Household consumption growth is likely to have moderated in the quarter as a whole: Inflationary forces built up, reaching a multi-year high in March and eating into consumers’ pockets. More positively, private-sector credit growth accelerated through February, boding well for private-sector activity and investment. Meanwhile, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed in January–February, pointing to a smaller drag from the external sector. Turning to the second quarter, inflation rose further in April, signaling a troubled private consumption outlook.
Honduras Economic Growth
Economic growth will decelerate this year on the back of a statistical effect and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. Less restrictive Covid-19 measures and solid remittance inflows should somewhat support domestic demand. However, a low domestic Covid-19 vaccination rate means the pandemic remains a risk, as do greater price pressures due to the war. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see the economy expanding 3.6% in 2022, which is down 0.3 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and growing 3.3% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Honduras Avenue de Cortenbergh 89 Kortenberglaan, 3rd floor 1000 Brussels T +32 2 734 00 00
Elections took place recently, bringing for the first time a lady, Mrs Castro, to power.
HEM Ambassador Roberto Ochoa Madrid served his term and will return to Honduras.
Mrs. Viviane de Pierrefeu, Minister Counsellor and in charge of current affairs ad interim, being named Ambassador to a major European Organisation will soon leave for Paris.
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Economic Outlook
Following Q4’s solid performance, the economy likely fared worse in Q1 2022. Available data points to moderating growth. Economic activity in February dropped nearly by half from January’s reading, burdened by sharp decelerations in multiple sectors, including agriculture and industrial manufacturing. Nevertheless, remittances grew significantly in the first quarter—likely beginning to reflect the emigration wave in response to the Ortega regime—lending some support to consumer spending. Looking to Q2, the war in Ukraine has increased global fertilizer and fuel prices dramatically, a trend which is likely affecting agricultural production and prices in the present period. In response, the government maintained the price freeze on fuels and gas for the fifth consecutive week in order to combat spiraling energy bills and support activity.
Economic Growth
In 2022, growth should weaken due to lower public spending and private investment. The external sector will suffer from U.S. sanctions. The BCN’s 18 April rate hike may also stifle growth, though it could halt capital flight. Deeper trade links to China and robust remittances pose upside risks, while political tensions and further international sanctions cloud the outlook. FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 2.9% in 2022, which is up 0.3 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 2.4% in 2023.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Nicaragua Avenue Wolvendael 55 Wolvendaellaan 1180 Brussels T +32 375 65 00
HE Mrs Venerio Fernandez was called back to Nicaragua during the pandemic. Mrs. Ziola Muller Goff, Ministra Consejera con funciones consulares is in charge of current affairs.
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Panama Economic Outlook
The economy grew rapidly but lost steam in Q4, largely due to a waning base effect and cooling growth in the services and industrial sectors. Turning to Q1, economic activity continued to grow at a solid, albeit softer rate in January–February. Both construction activity and new vehicles sales decelerated in the first two months of 2022, while rising energy and food prices likely capped private consumption growth. More positively, Panama Canal activity reflected a recovery to pre-pandemic levels at the outset of this year, while manufacturing activity was healthy. Turning to Q2, in late April, Turkey and Panama signed an agreement to further trade and tourism, boding well for the business environment. In addition, the country’s early May regularization of crypto assets could increase financial flows, although it may worsen Panama's reputation regarding financial transparency.
Economic Growth
Growth is expected to moderate this year, following last year’s strong rebound. The overall expansion should be fueled by stronger activity in the transportation sector, higher tourism arrivals and healthy copper exports. Elevated commodity prices, the current account deficit and high debt levels are downside risks to the outlook. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists foresee the economy expanding 7.0% in 2022, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2023, the economy is seen growing 5.0%.
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EMBASSY UPDATE
The Embassy of Panama Avenue Louise 475 Louizalaan, 11th floor 1050 Brussels T +32 2649 07 29
HE Mrs. Yavel Mireya Francis Lanuza, Ambassador is assisted by Mr. Tomas A. Guardia
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NEWS FROM BELGIUM & EUROPE |
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European airports expect significant disruptions this summer
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Brussels Airport departure hall. Credit: Belga
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Brussels Airport expects to have a busy summer as many countries have relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions and people are keen to travel again, reported Le Soir.
Yet Brussels is not the only airport expecting a summer of disruptions. Two-thirds of airports across Europe expect flights to be delayed, according to ACI Europe, the European trade association for airports. Many airports are lacking employees as the travel sector was one of the most severely impacted by the pandemic. As a result, many people at airports lost their jobs.
Today, the industry is kicking off again and it appears ready to find new employees in time. Further to this, 16% of airports expect flight cancellations to increase and one-third predict that staffing issues will continue after the summer season. In order to overcome staff shortages ahead of a busy summer, Brussels Airport launched a huge recruitment drive last week, with over one thousand jobs being offered.
The pandemic changed travelling habits and made last-minute bookings popular. However, this trend appears to be less pronounced this summer as travel restrictions have been eased across many countries.
But the uncertainties don’t seem to put people off travelling: more than three-quarters of Europeans have made plans to travel this summer, as demonstrated by a survey carried out by the European Travel Commission, a non-profit travel organisation based in Brussels which promotes Europe as a tourist destination.
Given the expected busy summer, on peak days Brussels Airport warns that there may be long queues, and urges passengers to arrive at the airport well ahead of their flights.
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Hidden Belgium: Train World
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The spectacular Train World in Brussels reopens with a new exhibition dedicated to royalty and trains. The exhibition looks at the links between Belgian royalty and the railway network they helped to develop in Belgium.
The innovative railway museum opened in 2016 in a renovated 19th century railway station in the Brussels suburb of Schaerbeek. Its dramatic interior was conceived by Belgian comic strip artist François Schuiten, with moody background music composed by Bruno Letort. You can climb on board a steam locomotive, peer inside a luxury sleeping car and inspect nostalgic railway officials’ uniforms.
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MEPs call for a more effective EU strategy to beat cancer
By Sarah Jane Smith, European Business Express
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The European Parliament adopted its final recommendations for a comprehensive and coordinated EU strategy to fight cancer.
Focus on cancer prevention
As more than 40% of all cancers are preventable through “coordinated actions targeting behaviour-related, biological, environmental, work-related, socio-economic and commercial” risk factors, MEPs call for effective prevention measures at national and EU level, based on independent scientific expertise. Recommended measures include funding programmes that encourage people to stop smoking and promoting actions to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm as part of a revised EU alcohol strategy. Parliament also demands a mandatory and harmonised EU front-of-pack nutritional label for food products as well as setting occupational exposure limit values for at least 25 additional substances.
Equal access to cancer care across borders
MEPs are concerned that patients still face challenges when trying to access healthcare services and to participate in clinical trials in other EU countries. They therefore call for the existing legislative framework to be reformed to allow for mobility and access to highly specialised equipment and care. There should be a single set of rules to authorise and reimburse cross-border healthcare, including a right to a second opinion. Multi-national cooperation and the way cross-border clinical trials are run also need to be more effective, they say.
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‘Radar bins’: Police mount hidden speed radars on Belgian roads
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Besides the visibly bulky speed radars spread out over roads and highways, police now have more discreet tools at their disposal to record speeding cars, Sud Presse reports.
“The road police unit in the Namur region has a ‘trash can’ radar. They sometimes lend it to others,” Pierre Grisard from SecuRoad which sells the device told Sud Presse. The ‘trash can’ speed control uses infrared radar technology, which allows it to operate without flashes when recording a speeding car. The data is instead transmitted via wi-fi to a vehicle parked further away to avoid attracting attention.
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