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Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.

Panama Considers 4th Set of Locks to Handle 20000 TEU Mega Ships.

Panama’s Canal expansion is pushing along, and despite work stoppages, may be expanded even further, if the Canal Authority has its way. In order to further expand on already large redevelopments, Panama has announced that they may add an additional 4^th set of locks.

The plans, which are understood to be at a very early stage, seek to enable Panama to cater for ships of around 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in capacity. “Looking at our geology and the experience we gained with this current expansion, we estimate it’s a project that could cost between $16 billion and $17 billion,” said ACP head Jorge Quijano.

The ACP is currently underway with the construction of its third set of locks, which are expected to enable the route to handle Post-Panamax ships from 1 April 2016.

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Visitors in Panama Spent Over $300 Million in January 2015

Panama tourism started 2015 with record-breaking numbers, according to new data released last month. In January alone, visitors spent $302 million in the country, a drastic increase on the same period last year. Panamanian tourism officials attribute this to the increase of air traffic to the country, which grew around 25% in just one year.

At a press conference held at the headquarters of the Tourism Authority of Panama, Jesus Sierra Victoria, Administrator of the ATP, reported that last January, visitors who were in the country, had spent 302.3 million dollars, which represents an increase compared to January 2014, 41.7 million dollars.

According to information published by the official website of the National Government, in January 2015 entered the country 265,278 visitors, an increase of 11.2% over the same period in 2014; with 26,640 additional visitors. In order to promote tourism in Panama, ATP will launch a new strategy, which starts this week and for the next six months, Taiwan buses will be on the streets of the capital Taipei, promoting tourism to Panama.

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New Holiday Declared To Honor Panama’s Indigenous Women

Panama made a big step in acknowledging the value of its indigenous population this week by declaring a law that would honor the nation’s indigenous women. The holiday, which would be recognized on September 5^th, was declared by the National Assembly and published under 27751-B, through Law 9. Panama’s indigenous population is still very prevalent in present day, and this is considered a big step by the government as far as cultural recognition.

Article 1 states that “September 5 of each year is declared Indigenous Women’s Day, in order to highlight and promote the values, virtues, culture and traditions that the Panamanian indigenous women contribute to national development.”

“The State shall ensure the personal distinction of indigenous women during the year preceding the date as they have particularly excelled in Panamanian society” continues article 3. The Ministry of Education and the Tourism and Culture Authority will organize events to celebrate the holiday.

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US President Obama to Prepares for Historic Summit in Panama

In less than one week, US President Barack Obama will be a guest in Panama at the historic 7^th Summit of the Americas. The Summit will bring together nearly all of the region’s heads of state and diplomatic leadership. It will also be the first meeting that will happen between a Cuban and US head of state in half a century. It will also be important for Latin American countries to voice their concerns over sanctions placed on Venezuela, a controversial topic in the region.

While meeting with Cuban officials is probably the most talked about aspect of Obama’s visit to Panama, the US delegation has a lot more on their plate to get done. As there has been in the past, there is still a rift between North America and South America when it comes to political and economic ideology. Obama, as the face of the US, and probably the most recognizable leader at the conference, will be trying to connect with regional leaders who have potential to do business with the US.

It’s also an opportunity for some Latin American delegations to express their frustration with US policies on Venezuela, and allow Obama to make his argument for why this policy is both fair, and justified. In short, the hopes are to bridge the diplomatic gap that has arisen between both sides.

Read more about President Obama visiting Panama