It is the sixth such swap under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, drawn up in 1998. Peru, Belize and El Salvador have also signed similar agreements.
Panama's debt payments will be reduced by US$10m over the next 14 years, the US Treasury said. The government will feed the money into a development fund, which will cover the cost of more park rangers and the implementation of conservation programmes.
The park is renowned for being the home of some 560 bird species including the harpy eagle, the largest eagle in the world and Panama's national bird. The US will provide a further US$5.6m for the fund, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), US$1.2m.
The deal was signed by economy and finance minister Norberto Delgado, and the US ambassador to Panama, Linda Watt, who had earlier presented a second batch of heavy all-terrain vehicles for deployment in the Darién border region with Colombia, taking the total provided so far to 14. Panama's President Mireya Moscoso recently paid a visit to Washington where she agreed with US counterpart George Bush Jr to establish a framework for a free-trade agreement.
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