Latin Analysis: Regional Leaders Call For Greater Cooperation At Forum In Panama
In late January 2026, Panama City hosted the International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, an annual event that is rapidly emerging as a major multilateral platform for the region. Bringing together politicians, business leaders, and academics, the event aimed not only to discuss economic policy but also to address Latin America’s place in a changing global order. Apart from the forum’s focus on regional cooperation and development strategies, it also highlighted Panama’s growing diplomatic and economic importance within Central America and beyond.
Inside The Forum
On January 28 and 29, Panama City saw seven heads of state, a president elect, and over 6,000 guests discuss Latin America’s role on the world stage. As host of the International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, Panama became the epicenter of economic exchange and political debate, with policymakers, investors, businessmen, and academics attending from 70 countries.
The forum aims to serve as a Latin American equivalent to Davos, to provide a platform for political and business leaders to discuss the region’s challenges and future opportunities. Organized by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), this is the forum’s second year in existence and has been held in Panama City in both 2025 and 2026. The event saw participation from the heads of state of Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala and Jamaica, and the president-elect of Chile. Among the other prominent figures in attendance were Nobel Prize winners Philippe Aghion and James Robinson, who both spoke about the drivers of innovation and growth, and the role of institutions in development. Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist and science writer, spoke about artificial intelligence and its potential economic consequences. The various panels were widely viewed beyond the conference hall, with around 400,000 viewers following the discussions virtually through a publicly available liverstream.
Participants and organizers expressed hope that the meeting will become a fixed annual gathering for regional decision-makers and investors, while also serving as an international showcase for Latin America and the Caribbean. The forum also provided a practical business component, with more than 400 bilateral meetings between governments, companies and multilateral organizations. Furthermore, CAF developed a networking application to enable the scheduling of further meetings aimed at facilitating investment and cooperation. Unlike other regional summits, the event deliberately included corporate leaders alongside politicians, emphasizing trade and investment rather than purely political or ideological debate. Previous regional organizations such as CELAC or UNASUR have often been criticized for becoming politicized, whereas this forum attempted a more pragmatic approach. During their speeches, President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino raised the possibility of deeper economic coordination through a regional economic bloc; despite this, no concrete plan accompanied the suggestion, leaving questions about how feasible such cooperation would be in practice.
The dominant message that emerged from the forum was a shared desire for closer coordination and a stronger collective influence in shaping the evolving global order. Leaders repeatedly emphasized the need for Latin America to articulate its own priorities in a period of geopolitical uncertainty. Whereas the twentieth century saw a movement toward a “non-aligned” posture, the current conversation pointed to a form of regional alignment capable of overcoming internal divisions. This was evident in President Lula’s speech, where he argued that global instability had exposed the limits of traditional multilateralism and suggested that Latin America should pursue a more autonomous project as a region. He warned: “We have once again become a divided region, more focused on the outside than on our ourselves. We have allowed foreign conflicts and ideological disputes to take hold. […] Our summits have become empty rituals, from which the main regional leaders are absent.” His remarks encapsulated the broader concern shared by participants, that without stronger cooperation, the region risks remaining politically fragmented and on the periphery of the global stage.
Panama’s Strategic Role
Panama City was chosen for the second year in a row to host the CAF International Economic Forum this January largely because of its position as a regional logistical and financial hub, as well as the success of the inaugural forum the previous year. Located between North and South America and linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Panama occupies a uniquely strategic position, functioning as a key connector between Central America and global trade networks.
Its status as a regional hub stems from several factors. The Panama Canal remains one of the most important channels of global commerce, carrying roughly 5-6% of maritime trade. The Colón Free Zone – one of the world’s largest free-trade ports – serves as a major distribution center for goods across Latin America and the Caribbean. Tocumen International Airport, meanwhile, links the region’s capitals through one of the hemisphere’s busiest aviation networks. Together these infrastructures underpin Panama’s role as both a logistical platform and a facilitator of economic integration.
Hosting the forum further reinforced Panama’s image as a diplomatic and economic bridge in Central America and reflected international confidence in its political stability and logistical capacity.
Panama’s strategic importance has also historically drawn attention from the United States, and this broader geopolitical context was difficult to ignore at the forum. The policies of the Trump administration loomed as a backdrop to discussions, particularly regarding regional sovereignty and external influence. The forum’s host, President José Raúl Mulino, made a pointed symbolic gesture by bringing visiting leaders to the Cocolí Locks of the Panama Canal for a group photograph. The setting highlighted both the canal’s importance and Panama’s insistence on its sovereignty. The image also served as a visual call for regional unity, placing leaders with significant political differences in a shared space and reinforcing the broader message of cooperation.
The 2026 forum saw participants agree on the need for greater regional coordination, investment cooperation and a clearer international voice, yet concrete mechanisms for achieving these goals remain limited. At the same time, the meeting demonstrated Panama’s growing function as a convening space for regional diplomacy and economic dialogue. Whether the initiative leads to lasting integration is still unclear, but the forum itself has already become an important venue through which Latin America contemplates how to position itself within a shifting global order.