U.S. FTA is a priority

“Panama is a close ally of the United States and the FTA has not been approved mainly because of the presidential elections in that country and the senate has not been in session,” said Humbert.

Talking about the attitude of president elect Barack Obama, the ambassador said that when he was in the congress he voted for the approval of the FTA with Peru and therefore there is no reason for him to veto the Panamanian one.

Humbert said that the government has requested the extradition of former strong man, Manuel Antonio Noriega, but it has not yet received an answer from the American courts and that might happen next year.