A Regional Forum at a Global Inflection Point
Panama City takes center stage tomorrow as leaders from across government, finance, and industry convene for the International Economic Forum Latin America and the Caribbean 2026, a high-level gathering designed to reposition the region amid profound shifts in the global economic order.
Convened by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean in partnership with the Government of Panama, the Forum is widely viewed as Latin America and the Caribbean’s most ambitious effort to create a regional counterpart to Davos. Heads of state, ministers, investors, and business leaders will meet over the next two days to debate how the region can navigate trade uncertainty, geopolitical fragmentation, and slowing global growth while advancing inclusive development.
The Forum opens at a moment when confidence in the rules based international economic system is being tested. Recent global discussions have underscored rising protectionism, a more transactional approach to trade, and growing skepticism toward multilateral cooperation. For Latin America and the Caribbean, whose economies remain deeply exposed to global shocks, the stakes of this moment are particularly high.
From Dialogue to Strategic Recalibration
Organizers have framed the Panama Forum as more than a venue for reflection. It is intended as a platform for strategic recalibration, offering the region an opportunity to articulate its own priorities as global power dynamics shift.
Over two days, political leaders will engage directly with private sector executives and institutional investors on competitiveness, development finance, digital transformation, energy transition, and social inclusion. The emphasis is on linking policy to capital and accelerating pathways from dialogue to implementation.
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino is expected to open the Forum, joined by leaders including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo, and Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz. Their participation underscores the Forum’s role as one of the most consequential political and economic gatherings in the region this year.
Panama’s Expanding Role on the Global Stage
The Forum reinforces Panama’s growing stature as a global convening hub. In 2025, Panama became the first country to host intersessional negotiations for all three Rio Conventions in the same calendar year, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
That unprecedented convergence elevated Panama’s profile within the international system and demonstrated its ability to convene complex multilateral processes across climate, biodiversity, and land. Crucially, those negotiations were not treated as isolated diplomatic exercises. They were paired with a deliberate focus on financing solutions across climate, nature, and land, signaling Panama’s intent to bridge global policy ambition with real world execution.
During the 2025 intersessional negotiations, the Government of Panama partnered with Global Resilience Partners to co-host the Nature Summit Series. These invitation-only forums convened public, private, and philanthropic leaders to finance and scale proven solutions already delivering impact across climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, and land restoration.
By embedding finance and implementation alongside diplomacy, Panama positioned itself not only as a host of global negotiations but as a platform where capital, policy, and delivery intersect. The International Economic Forum builds directly on that momentum, extending the country’s convening role into the broader economic and investment landscape.
Beyond Policy, Toward Economic Activation
Alongside plenary discussions, the Forum integrates a strong commercial dimension. A business matchmaking platform aims to connect international buyers with Latin American and Caribbean exporters, translating high level dialogue into tangible trade and investment outcomes.
The Forum is preceded by Festival CAF: Voices for Our Region, a cultural program highlighting the creative and social dimensions of development. By integrating culture into the economic agenda, organizers signal that regional influence extends beyond balance sheets and trade flows.
A Test of Regional Confidence
As global uncertainty deepens, the International Economic Forum Latin America and the Caribbean 2026 offers a clear test of regional confidence. It asks whether Latin America and the Caribbean can move from reacting to global volatility to shaping its own strategic trajectory.
Whether Panama’s gathering becomes a moment of alignment or a catalyst for sustained action will determine how the Forum is remembered. What is already clear is that the region is no longer waiting for direction. It is beginning to define its own economic voice.
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