Ramón Martínez de la Guardia serves as the current Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the United States of America since June 2022. In his role as Ambassador, Mr. Martínez has focused on strengthening the bilateral relationship between the United States and Panama, advocating for stronger commercial, political, and cultural ties between both nations. As a result of his leadership, Panama was selected to be one of the seven countries that the United States will partner with to build a more resilient, secure, and sustainable global semiconductor value chain under the CHIPS Act of 2022. As a distinguished member of the Bloomberg New Economy Trade Council from 2021 to 2022, he coordinated a unique alliance that enabled Panama to host the inaugural Bloomberg New Economy Gateway event in Latin America. The program centered on Latin America’s economic future, with a particular focus on broken supply chains and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, Mr. Martínez served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Panama since July 2019. In this capacity, he met his counterparts and executives from several countries in different regions of the world, particularly Latin America. He actively promoted the development of strategic industries, expanded local and international trade, and concentrated on the attraction of foreign direct investments. Ambassador Ramón Martínez de la Guardia currently lives in Washington D.C. with his wife, María Alejandra Cargiulo, and their two children.