E-Government and Digital Infrastructure for Panama’s Development and Regional Integration

As part of the celebrations for its 50th Anniversary, CAF—development bank of Latin America—brought together leaders from various sectors to exchange views on the main challenges facing the region in e-government and digital infrastructure, and to identify concrete solutions to guide public policies that can improve quality of life, with people at the heart of state governance.

The meeting discussed how the digital economy continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, changing the way individuals, businesses and governments interact. For both the public and private sectors, however, capitalizing on this new economy depends increasingly on the availability of digital broadband internet infrastructure, as new services require faster speeds and higher network capabilities to meet growing demand.

In his opening remarks, CAF executive president Luis Carranza noted: “At CAF we are working with several governments to improve the provision of public goods and services using digital tools. We have also created the CAF-PPI facility to finance regional integration pre-investment studies, including the IXP center here in Panama, a data and content hub that will reduce costs by around 40%, boosting development of public and private investments for the benefit of the people.” Carranza added that the third initiative is a strategic partnership to bring internet to rural populations, in an effort to close the 100-million gap of people without internet access in Latin America. “We started in Peru, with coverage for 4 million people by 2021,” he concluded

Panama’s Minister of Trade and Industries, Ramón E. Martinez de la Guardia, noted in his remarks: “I wish to convey the acknowledgement of our government team, led by President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, for the support we have received from CAF over the years, for the development of infrastructure, water and sanitation projects, good environmental practices, trade relations and institutional strengthening, which have greatly bolstered growth in the nation. New technological tools, together with a true transformation process, will be the key to having agile, inclusive and reliable governance.” For this administration, De la Guardia added, “E-Government is a commitment to transparency, efficiency and citizen trust.  As envisaged in our Uniendo Fuerzas action plan, Panama requires a new DNA: the National Digital Agenda as an instrument for the future.”

This space for open dialogue included a panel that discussed the Infrastructure for the digital economy, which featured Nelson Guillén, President of the Board of Directors of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel); Jarret Taubman, Policy, Connectivity and Access Manager at Facebook; Maryleana Méndez, secretary general of the Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies (ASIET); and Horacio Romanelli, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Millicom, moderated by Susan Castillo, Medcom journalist.

The second panel, “Challenges for the Digital Transformation of the State” addressed the development of digital public strategies and policies that can impact government efficiency, effectiveness and integrity, as well as those that can help boost innovative economic sectors in small and medium-sized enterprises—particularly GovTech. Panelists included Luis Oliva, director general of Panama’s National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG); Sara Carrasqueiro, member of the Board of Directors of Portugal’s Administrative Modernization Agency; Agostinho Almeida, director of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution for Latin America of the World Economic Forum; and Letícia Piccolotto, President of BrazilLab, moderated by Yolanda Sandoval, Economy and Business editor at La Prensa.

The session was adjourned with a call for the exchange of best practices between different countries and sectors as a differentiating tool for boosting the region, and highlighting the importance of e-government to improve people’s quality of life and development.

Opening of the CAF datacenter

With a view to providing more efficient and reliable services to its member countries, CAF opened today its new main data center in Panama, with all technical specifications, high availability, energy efficiency, world-class certifications and a new technological architecture that will increase operational efficiency of the institution in 19 countries.

As part of CAF’s digital modernization and transformation plan, the data center will manage Information Technology (IT) platforms and tools—the communications, security, computing, and storage infrastructure that supports the technology services needed for CAF’s operation. 

The Data Center inauguration was attended by executive president Luis Carranza; Hugo Torrijos, director of the Unit for Private Investment Promotion; Nahuel Ramos, national technology director at the National Authority for Government Innovation; Milena Gómez, deputy national secretary and director of business innovation at SENACYT; and José Eduardo Buenrostro, chargé d’affaires at the Mexican Embassy in Panama, among others.

“CAF’s strategy in Panama is a long-term, technological plan, to adapt our processes and systems to better serve our countries, which are our clients, but also to support them in their digital transformation process. Therefore, our strategic relationship, for example, with Panama’s National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG), is crucial,” said Carranza.

The data center will enable system-wide architecture, management, and operational human resource optimization, scalability, growth flexibility, high data protection levels, increased throughput and storage in less physical space, and better-than-expected application performance.