Panama
Poised To Withdraw From
Central American Parliament
Panama - Panama has
submitted a letter of intention to quit the
Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), the
foreign ministry said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela has
presented the letter to the secretary
general of PARLACEN as well as informing his
counterparts in El Salvador and Guatemala of
the decision, the ministry said in a
statement.
On Thursday, Varela will travel to Nicaragua
to brief his counterpart on Panama's
decision, the statement said.
Rules of the regional organization say that
any member that wants to quit must first
submit its intention to the other member
states and wait for their approval, which
would be given within 90 days.
Varela said PARLACEN largely is a
consultative body and has contributed little
to resolving the region's problems. He said
about 95 percent of Panama's residents
support the country's resignation.
PARLACEN, founded in 1991, is based in
Guatemala City and has six member states.
Each member must pay 1.7 million U.S.
dollars annually to keep the group running.
|
