LatinNews Daily - 05 November 2026

*Panama’s foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, has signed a new general treaty of “friendship and cooperation” with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Madrid. The agreement updates bilateral links, replacing a treaty dating back to 1953. According to a press release by Panama’s foreign ministry, the agreement is designed to “deepen cooperation, boost economic exchange and identify new trade and technology opportunities to the direct benefit of citizens from both countries”. The meeting took place as Martínez-Acha Vásquez is in Spain to attend the XXX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government which is taking place 4-5 November. The latest Spain-Panama agreement follows a new cooperation partnership signed by both countries in February which, according to a statement by Spain’s government, focused on “four strategic challenges linked to social, ecological, and economic transitions: the exchange of knowledge and fostering of scientific, technological, and digital capabilities for sustainable development; transformative democratic governance with a focus on gender, care, and participation; inclusive, innovative, and resilient economic and territorial development models; and a just ecological transition”. According to the same statement, as of January 2026 the total amount of projects and programmes currently being executed by Spain's international cooperation agency (AECID) in Panama stood at €85m (US$96m).