Center for Security and Emergency Operations

Canada and Panama have signed a $20 million contract under the Framework Cooperation Agreement Thursday for the creation of a security and Emergency operations center in Panama.

The contract signed, November 9, 2017, was for the technological platform and equipment to be used in what will be the Interagency Center for Security and Emergency Operations, Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Quality (C5).

The Ministry of Security (Minseg) in Panama will be in charge of the operation of C5.  C5 will collaborate with four security agencies in Panama and the emergency response agencies of the State, which are part of the Joint Task Force (FTC). 

The center will include a set of computerized systems for reception, attention, and dispatch of emergency calls with georeferencing, high definition video surveillance towers, panic buttons, citizen collaboration tools and video analysis. 

The $ 20 million contract created under the Framework Cooperation Agreement, allows Panama to acquire public security goods and services, directly from the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), an international contracting agency of Canada from Government to Government. 

According to the Minister of Minseg, Alexis Bethancourt, phase 1 of the C5 will be in operation for the visit of Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Youth Day (WYD) in January 2019. 

The Ambassador of Canada, Anna-Karine Asselin, stressed that "by signing a contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation, Panama is signing directly with the Government of Canada, without intermediaries, adding that" Canada is the contractual party, compliance is guaranteed under the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and transparency. " 

The signing of the contract was attended by the Deputy Minister of Security, Jonathan del Rosario; Cristian Hayer (general director of the National Border Service); Belsio González (general director of the National Service Aeronaval) and the ambassador of the United States in Panama, John Feeley.