(VOVworld) - The Panamanian government, via its foreign ministry, will create an independent commission comprised of domestic and international experts to evaluate current tax management systems and propose measures to exchange information with other countries in order to strengthen the transparency of the financial and legal systems. President Juan Carlos Varela said that investigation will be conducted via diplomacy and serious, responsible and constructive dialogue.

Panama President Juan Carlos Varela delivers a speech to the nation after a meeting with various ambassadors to Panama at the Foreign Affairs building in Panama City. (Photo: Reuters)

Panama’s government has sent a letter to Angel Gurria, Head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), criticizing a statement he made describing Panama as “the last major holdout that continues to allow funds to be hidden offshore from tax and law enforcement authorities”. Those accusations were false, “unfair and discriminatory” and “tarnish the reputation of the country”. Panama warned it could retaliate against France if it puts the country back on the blacklist of "tax havens"- a status that would cause transactions in Panama to be viewed as tax-dodging gambits.