USA / PANAMA CITY – The Organization of American States (OAS) and Panama’s National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) signed a Cooperation Agreement designating the Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services (INDICASAT-AIP) as an OAS Regional Center of Excellence in Biotechnology. Upon signing the agreement, the OAS secretary general said:“Regional cooperation is an imperative in a world characterised by deep transformations. As an OAS Center of Excellence, INDICASAT will serve as a regional hub in biotechnology and carry out research, foresight studies and advanced modelling on biodiversity, bioprospecting, and health sciences, to map global and regional trends. At the ceremony, both signatories also announced the organisation of a joint Regional Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology, to be hosted in Panama in the second half of 2026. The conference, organised by SENACYT and INDICASAT in collaboration with the OAS, will provide a hemispheric platform to advance dialogue and knowledge-sharing on the convergence of AI and biotechnology.