• Under the leadership of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, joint actions were carried out with 10 countries, to address irregular migratory flows.
• The Foreign Ministry led multilateral meetings across America to agree on a regional response to the phenomenon of irregular migration.
Panama, February 1, 2022. Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes, Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, and the Director of the National Immigration Service, Samira Gozaine; made a balance of the work carried out to date, which shows a dramatic reduction from 2,461 migrants at its highest point (August 2021) to an average of 140 daily admissions in the present, through the Darien Gap.
The authorities evaluated in detail the achievements thanks to coordination that addresses the effects of the entry of migrants, up to 133,726 during the year 2021.
“Multilateral diplomatic approaches have borne fruit. Since the first ministerial summit convened by Panama in August of last year, we have engaged more than ten strategic partners in the region, including the United States, Canada, and Colombia. Everyone has supported the Panamanian request to address the phenomenon with responsibility, coordination, and a humanitarian approach”, the Foreign Minister said.
Panama is the only country on the migrant route that verifies entry numbers and captures biometric data from this population, to which it also provides shelter, food, vaccinations and health care for children and pregnant women. "The reduction of these migratory flows allows us to provide better care, without saturating our facilities," said Minister Mouynes.
"International collaboration to address this global phenomenon has shown subtractions and although we are optimistic, we are cautiously monitoring the data, and preparing ourselves to face possible ups and downs in the evolution of this complex situation, always in coordination with the international community," said the chief. of Panamanian diplomacy.
It was recalled that, after the first High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Americas, convened by Panama on August 11, the first Meeting of Attorneys General of the region was held and an important joint work session of the Directors of Migration of the area.
Likewise, as a result of the Panamanian strategy, the bilateral meeting with Colombia on August 6, 2021, with the visit of the Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez; the meeting in the framework of the United Nations with the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Central American foreign ministers, on September 23, and the high-level Security dialogue between Panama and the United States, on October 14.
As an additional reference, Panama has been part of the Alliance for Development in Democracy since 2021, together with the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, with the objective, among other mandates, of promoting the recovery of Haiti, the country of origin of nearly 80% of emigrants. irregulars that crossed Panama during 2021.