The European Investment Bank (EIB) has officially launched this Thursday its new regional office for Central America and Mexico, coinciding with the holding of the XXX Ibero-American Summit in Madrid. This delegation, located in Panama, has been in operation since last October.
As the institution has indicated in a statement, this opening represents an "important step" to strengthen the cooperation of the pan-European bank with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama.
Under the agreement signed with the host country, the EIB’s representation in Panama is expected to deepen collaboration with its partners through a "closer relationship" with public administrations, the business community and the financial institutions of the countries it supports.
Similarly, the new headquarters will serve to identify investment projects considered strategic for the area, support their design and implementation, and improve coordination on the ground with the aim of driving shared priorities.
In line with this, the EIB expects to continue channeling around 1,000 million euros for regional electricity integration, as was advanced at the CELAC-EU Summit held in Santa Marta (Colombia) in November 2025.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the President of the EIB, Nadia Calviño, and Panama’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, as well as by delegations and representatives from the countries of Central America and Mexico.
"Our new regional office in Panama will intensify links between the two regions and will help generate tangible benefits for millions of people and businesses across all of Central America and Mexico. Latin America and the Caribbean can count on the EU as a trusted partner, now and in the future," Calviño has said.
"The representation will facilitate closer cooperation with governments, financial institutions and companies in Central America and Mexico, supporting the preparation and implementation of projects in the areas of energy, sustainable mobility, water and sanitation, and innovation," Martínez-Acha Vásquez said in turn.