OREANDA-NEWS. May 04, 2016. The 2016 Annual Conference of Executives (CADE, for its acronym in Spanish) discussed the national strategies and actions, both public and private, to take advantage of the internal and external opportunities to generate value added with the coming inauguration of the Panama Canal 

In Panama the 2016 CADE gathered entrepreneurs, professional associations, public authorities, and representatives from international organizations such as CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the Inter-American Development Bank, to identify opportunities for sustainable growth in the country, based on the larger flow of ships and containers that will pass through the Canal after its expansion.   

Among the conclusions of the event stands out the need to maximize logistic services for ships, cargo, and crew that will go through the inter-oceanic area and its hinterland, adding value with new ports, parks, auxiliary industries, road systems, trains, airports, or the digitalization of the conglomerate for on-line information. 

In her speech, Luc?a Meza, CAF's Director for Infrastructure and Logistic Projects, highlighted the virtues of public-private associations to increase and optimize investments and turn the canal and its hinterland into a world-class logistic platform. 

Susana Pinilla, CAF's Director Representative in Panama, encouraged the use of agricultural productive advantages, as well as tourism, energy, and logistic advantages of the national territory to expand investments, generate quality employment, access to basic services, and improve the quality of life of the whole population, thus allowing the benefits of the expansion of the Canal to reach all Panamanian citizes.  

This implies sectorial plans and road maps (some of them being financed by CAF), which are coordinated by a dynamic logistic cabinet that complies with the goals proposed for the short, medium, and long-term. 

The CADE, which this year turns 50 years old, annually gathers executives, entrepreneurs, students, authorities, and the civil society with the objective of drawing action lines together to address Panama's main challenges in coming years.