PANAMA CITY, PANAMA – The Governments of the United States and Panama celebrated 50 years of collaboration and the upcoming closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) country office.  Due to the Government of Panama’s strong economic growth and commitment to development, USAID assistance is no longer needed.

“To reach the point that our partner countries can execute their own development efforts without our assistance means we did our job,” said Mark Feierstein, USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We’ve had a great partner in the Panamanian government, private sector, and civil society which has led to this success.”

Some of USAID’s key accomplishments in Panama include: building over 100 schools; preserving the Panama Canal watershed; establishing outreach centers for at-risk youth; providing higher education scholarships; constructing roads in the Darien region; establishing the Ministries of Housing and Agriculture; and forming local organizations.

Panama joins Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, South Korea and Poland as countries that no longer receive USAID assistance.