Hi there, it's Nick Funnerberg, the CMO of Block Tag. And we have a special guest uh today, tonight, depends where you are in the world, in our community, Aldalfo Fabrica from AIG. Thank you so much for um being here with us today and certainly also for welcoming to this incredible country of yours and uh we just like to hand over to to yourself just to give a short introduction around AIG and you know we've just listened to your keynote speech and uh would love for our community to hear how Panama is open for business and certainly touching on your portfolio where blockchain fits in and you know all of the various I guess uh legal constructs that you're putting in place to facilitate open trade uh from that perspective. So over to you. Thank you. Correct. So thank you for for the invite. Thank you for having me. So AIG is the authority of innovation. uh it's a government authority of innovation which is the kind of like the IT department of the government but we also have um an area that just dedicates itself to innovation to finding uh new things of doing what we currently do in the government. So mainly we focus on providing services that the government provides to the citizens but also to um you know people around the world that want to visit Panama that want to do business in Panama. Um, we want to try to make it easier. We want to make sure that Open for Business is not only a brand, it's something that actually translates into business. And, uh, we want to see how we can make that work using technology. Um, that's our plan. We want to try to make Panama be considered a digital nation. Um, it's something that we're very ambitious as a country, but we haven't been able to get there. So the question now with this new administration and and we have a lot of optimism in Panama for this new administration um it's a matter of getting there with a good good road map and a good execution plan. No, certainly. And I just wanted to pick up on your keynote. You used quite a interesting analogy. I think it was where you're referring to, I guess, a tourist that was visiting and, you know, they they didn't necessarily, you know, know the market. And I think what's quite innovative from your perspective is the way you're tackling, you know, Panama from a brand perspective. And that was very interesting to me. And it's about building a brand. And certainly within the digital ecosystem, the web 3 world, you know, we're in the same position. It's about building brand, building community, and engaging to actually, you know, have that trust from a consumer perspective. And so, what are you doing, you know, from your from your remit to to ensure that that takes place? Yeah. So, I mean, culture-wise, I think Panama does fit in the brand that we're open for business and we're open for tourism. I think if you if you visit Panama, you get a a very warm feel. People are very welcoming. Um there's a lot to do. There's a lot of activities to do. So we are in that sense very open. Um I haven't been a a tourist in my own country. I've been a tourist in many other places of the world. But uh since I have been a tourist in many places of the world, there are some countries and I'm not going to mention any, but there are some countries where where you feel, you know, that they're not very comfortable with uh with people different than them coming in. Sure. There are other countries, however, where you feel so welcome that you extend your stay. Yes. That's what we want Panama to be. And I think culture- wise, we already have that ingrained. So since we already have that, we need to make it easier in terms of any type of paperwork that you have to do. Let's eliminate the paperwork, make it all digital, have good security requirements, but make it easier for tourists to come in to do what they need to do here. You know, purchase, um, get their plans together, have easy access to the options of the things that they can do. And in terms of business, making it very easy for people that want to do business in Panama, not only easy in terms of what they have to go through to actually o actually open a business here, but even in the sense of getting incentives. So we have a lot of laws in place that allow you to have incentives for moving here. We have, for example, a law that's totally focused on digital nomads. um that makes it very easy for a person that for example codes or does you know publicity or anything like that uh to come to Panama and and settle the business here. That's incredible. I know Anthony you wanted to comment just in in way from a blockd perspective and how you know obviously we've been um immersed in this region only for a few days and uh I think what we've been encouraged by is the the innovation and the hunger uh not only from the individuals we've met but it seems there's this I guess culture from a ladam perspective where you're solving actual problems on the ground and And I think you know the same for us. We're also open for business from that perspective. So I don't know if you want to just share some some insight on that too. Yeah, thanks Nick and and great to be here here with you Adulo. Um I mean just to mention we one of the tourists that would love to extend our visit here. We we leave in two days time and we realize we've seen so little. Um we were lucky to be on the water yesterday but that's but otherwise we've been pretty busy. Um so I mean we we here we're we're a blockchain. we're launching. So from our perspective, we're very keen on the region. We see a lot lot of opportunities. Um we've got an adviser on the ground here who's been our our our pathway in and he's certainly helped us sort of engage and and and we see massive opportunities. But I suppose my question to you is sort of what what are you doing and what makes this region or this this this country attractive to web 3 developers or blockchains like ourselves that are looking to grow in the area? Okay. So I think we're very internationalized in terms of uh citizens are very in tune with what's happening in the world. Um you see in terms of the student population, people with very interesting projects. Uh you see a lot of hackathons here in Panama. You see a lot of innovative projects that that are I would say in a wow level. um we usually think that pano is a very small countries that we can't do things out outside the box but it does happen. So in terms of the government in terms of the the public sector where I'm in we need to incorporate that innovation as well. We need to incorporate that little risk. I mean we can't take as many risks at as the as a private enterprise or as an individual that wants to do something out of the box because in the end we are working with tax taxpayer money. However, there are some technologies that we can implement and be even leaders worldwide. That's one of the benefits right now, you know, with open source technologies and and with technologies that are at at your disposal that are even free, you know, AI and similar that you can do amazing things with very with very little investment. So since we have that we can uh take into advant take uh the advantage of let's say blockchain technology for those types of processes that that can benefit from high levels of trust and and confidence from the citizens many in the many cases where we don't have it and we can just rely on a blockchain for that more than actual let's say monetary or financial use cases. what we mainly have is just trust in the in the data. Um not only how it's you know stored and used but also how it can be used. We were talking earlier about uh data in terms of identity in terms of the identity of the citizens. Um I'm a I'm a firm believer that we can we can go totally web three as an approach for that. Uh those are the type of things that that we're currently discussing here in Panama and in the end we think those type of initiatives can take us to being considered a digital nation not necessarily by the world but at least by ourselves. Okay. I mean certainly the digital ID side I mean that that's a a fantastic use case I think for web 3 and the government. Um are there other areas that you exploring that that make sort of sense? Um, obviously you you can't embrace it and try and throw out everything you've got. It's it's sort of peace meal. It's it's picking the the places where it can be implemented carefully and cleverly and you get the best return. So So what other areas are you potentially looking at? Yeah. So there's let's say there's they're very innovative, but there's also just using innovative technologies for fundamental things. And one of those fundamental things is um legal documentation that that's part of processes that have happened here. We have for example um environmental impact studies that can seem some like something uh very trivial but it's a very sensitive transaction. This is because if an environmental impact document is modified, you can end up creating a project that hurts the environment and we don't want that to happen at all. We are very green here in Panama. As you know, we have uh we're in a small list of countries that are carbon negative. We um if you see the issues that we have had in the past, you see that the citizens are are very green minded. So in those type of situations uh if we rely on a blockchain we can guarantee that something as simple or or or separate to the common blockchain use case can be fundamentally used in order to incorporate a blockchain and have a lot of trust in the environmental studies that we do. They can't be modified. They can't be altered in any in any aspect and the data cannot be controlled by somebody that later on you know goes into a position that wants to do um something different than what the ethical standards require. Okay. And and I mean just looking at hackathons I mean we're busy running one at the moment. Um are those sort of initiatives things that the government could also use in terms of tapping on local resources to get um good ideas, good solutions or is that sort of outside of the remit of the way government would would work here? That's outside of what it has done in the past but it's what we are now considering. Uh yeah. Yeah. We want to I mean we have for example uh I don't know if you you heard the story of our mayor here in in Panama. Uh our mayor is called Meyer. So the mayor may the mayor. Meer the mayor. Um he was an an absolute different uh character that than what we used to have as the typical mayor. He is uh you know somebody that you know the gene and t-shirt were wearing innovator um more technology oriented etc. He got the votes and that's a very clear message. You know people want something different people want something a little more innovative. Um it is a mandate of the president that I have to use sudai. We obviously not we didn't we didn't we didn't get the dress code today and I do and I do respect that. Well, in my case, in my case as a, you know, as an official, but um, you know, I think we're very open-minded here in Panama. We think different. Um, we are very open to, you know, innovating and doing different things here in Panama. You see that culture that's recent. That's not, you know, that that's not uh something that has been that way the whole the whole time. So, we got to take advantage of that. you know, we got to change things around um and let people know Panama as what I was saying before is that I think people don't know Panama and that we you can see it as something negative or you can see it as something extremely positive that allows you to create a new brand. That's what we want to do. We don't know exactly how we're going to do it, but that's what we want to do. And things like hackathons and and and those type of events um give us that edge of not only being innovative but actually tapping in our most young, creative, intelligent and developed citizens to tell us um what we can do. Yeah, I'd imagine that that doing that makes you quite a forward-looking government. I mean I I don't know how many governments in the world would be embracing hackathons. Oh, we are we are which is which is great to hear. Um yeah, I mean you you you mentioned in in your your talk earlier the fact that a lot of tourists come here and they all all they expect is to see a canal. Um I mean coming from South Africa, we're a long way away and I suppose we had probably a similar sort of we know we're going to see a canal. We're not sure. There's probably a lot of uh a lot of other things to see. But yeah, I mean, we've certainly been very impressed with with the city and and and everything we're learning about about the country and the people. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's a similar thing and and and in many places you see this the the same. I mean, if if I go to, as we were talking before, if I go to Cape Town, you know, I obviously want to see Table Mountain, but then I see it and I turn around, right? What what am I going to do the rest of the five days I'm here? And you turn around and you see this vibrant city of so many things to do. And that's kind of the feeling that we want for for Panama. And it's not that we want and we can't have it. It's that we want and we do have the offering. The problem is people don't necessarily know it exists. Many of the the the the people that I meet that come here to visit in the end of their trip, they tell me, you know, I had no idea. But if you have people visiting your store, your hotel, your city or your country and in the end they tell you, "I had no idea." That means you're doing a terrible job in selling your products and services. That's where we need to to do a little better. And I think that's one of the focuses that we have right now. We have the authority of tourism in Panama that's doing a very good job. and and and that's what they're trying to find exactly how we can make sure that people understand that Panama is not only a canal. You come and you see the canal, but you turn around and you see a vibrant city. You see a huge skyline. You see the contrast of an old town like Casco Viejo where you can see, you know, old places with a very historic buildings, but you just turn around and right there, one mile away, is this huge skyline that's different than what you see in many places. You have the same with a very concrete setting here in the city, but you just go, you know, three hours by car and you have one of the most beautiful jungles. Uh you're in the Pacific and you just drive an hour and you're in the Atlantic. It's a little bit of, you know, a mix of things and uh for that person that's looking for a mix of experiences, I think we have a lot to offer. Definitely. So certainly. So thank you so much, Alfo. And uh to the community out there, as you heard, you know, Panama's open for business. We're certainly um going to be planning our next few trips in this region. So, thank you again for for hosting us. And uh I must say though, just as the last uh last note that um my phone to all my friends and family certainly what you've just articulated, I was saying no, we have to come here. So, if one could capture that and that enthusiasm from I'm sure all of the phone calls that are made post the visit, then you certainly have a winning brand strategy. So, thank you again and uh really appreciate the time. Excellent. Thank you. Yeah, thanks Adula. Thank you.