Invitation Extended

When historians eventually fix the place and time of the Republic of Panama's change from a Bolivarian nation* to a Central American nation, they may well decide on an offhand conference held one day last week at a grey clapboard customs house on the border between Costa Rica and Panama. The conferees: Panama's President Ricardo ("Dickie") Arias, in mustard-colored slacks and a brown sports jacket, and Costa Rica's Jose ("Pepe") Figueres, in shirtsleeves and loosened tie.

In casual contrast to the bejeweled pomp of the strongmen's council in Peru (see above), Arias and Figueres, with their Foreign Ministers, sat down at a table placed astride the international boundary line. With banana pickers, cops and Cabinet Ministers wandering freely around, the ceremonies were simple and unsecretive. Costa Rica offered Panama a written invitation, under informal discussion for the past few months, to join the Organization of Central American States, which already includes all the other isthmian countries between Mexico and South America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica).

Panama will obviously have to consider the offer at greater length. But after Scotch-on-the-rocks in Dixie cups and a picnic lunch on paper plates, Panama's Foreign Minister borrowed a typewriter and batted out a statement to the effect that the invitation sounded fine.

*I.e., of the South American region freed from Spain by Liberator Simon Bolivar.

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