Foreign relations of Panama
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Panama is a member of the UN General Assembly and most major UN agencies and has served three terms as a member of the UN Security Council. It maintains membership in several international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Panama is a member of the Organization of American States and was a founding member of the Rio Group. Although it was suspended from the Latin American Economic System--known informally both as the Group of Eight and the Rio Group--in 1988 due to its internal political system under Manuel Noriega, Panama was readmitted in September 1994 as an acknowledgment of its present democratic credentials.
Panama also is one of the founding members of the Union of Banana Exporting Countries and belongs to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Panama is a member of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) as well as the Central American Integration System (SICA). Panama joined its six Central American neighbors at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
Illicit drugs
Panama is a major cocaine transshipment point and major drug-money-laundering center; no recent signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving, yet Panama has failed to prosecute anyone for money laundering; official corruption remains a major problem.