You are warned.
I have no idea about the long-term benefits or costs of the Summit. But I do know that getting around Panama City will be very tricky.
Road closures and traffic will abound.
It is rumored that President Obama has 24 cars in his entourage. And he is only 1 of the 35 world leaders here for the Summit.
For information about the road closures, see this US Embassy page.
About the Summit
For those that don’t know.
The Summit is a venue for leaders of the western hemisphere to “discuss common policy issues, affirm shared values and commit to concerted actions at the national and regional level to address continuing and new challenges faced in the Americas.”
US President Bill Clinton created the 1st summit in 1994. It was held in Miami Florida.
The 7th Summit of the Americas will be hosted by Panama in Panama City. It officially goes from April 10-12th, but there are a number of adjunct events that occur from April 9-15th.
This year’s Summit will be the 1st at which all 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere will attend.
There will be even more people attending the Summit’s adjunct meetings, for instance today’s business forum. US President Obama will attend that as well as former US President Bill Clinton, 2nd richest man in the world Carlos Slim from Mexico, senior officials from Coca Cola, Copa Airlines, Walmart, and many others.
To find out more about the Summits of the Americas and if they really matter, go to this site about the Summits.
Busy Time In Panama City
Panama City’s International film festival is also opening today.
Click for more about Panama ‘s film festival.
A busy time in Panama City.
Worth being there for the film festival.
But if you aren’t going to that, I’d avoid Panama City right now.
Want to visit a quieter place, learn more about our beach town, Puerto Armuelles, Panama.
