Indian ocean association for regional cooperation

Established in 1997, the IONARC aims to increase cooperation in matters of mutual non-military interest. Members are Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Yemen.

Islamic conference organisation

The Islamic Conference Organisation was founded in 1971 and consists of fifty-four member states together with Zanzibar. The Central African Republic, Togo and the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' have Observer status. Its aim is the promotion of Islamic interests and solidarity in all their aspects, based on the Declaration of Lahore of 1974 which confirmed the full national rights of the Palestinian people in their homeland, the decision of the 1975 conference to establish a permanent committee (the AI-Quds Committees) to pursue the question of the future of Jerusalem, and the Casablanca Charter of 14 January 1984 which established committees for regional reconciliation and concord to settle differences between members.

The ICO has maintained an active role in international relations, exemplified by the Mecca Declaration of 28 January 1979 concerning Afghanistan, and the efforts to mediate in the Gulf. Conferences of Heads of State take place annually, and meetings of Foreign Ministers take place annually or more often as circumstances demand. Of the various subsidiary organisations, the Committee on Economic Affairs seeks to promote mutual economic cooperation and solidarity among Moslem countries. The Secretariat is in Jeddah.

LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMIC

ORGANISATIONS

The Latin American Integration Association (LAIA or ALADI) was established in 1980 by the new Treaty of Montevideo, which superseded the 1960 Treaty which created the Latin American Free Trade Area (LAFTA). The purpose of the new treaty is to pursue the integration process in order to promote the harmonious and balanced socio-economic development of the region; the long-term objective of such a process being the gradual and progressive establishment of a Latin American common market (article 1). The scope of the new treaty is greater than that of the original one, but the methods of achieving closer cooperation are more flexible, and in the form of a framework for pragmatic development, rather than a fixed timetable for achieving specific objectives. The treaty makes provision for regional tariff preferences, regional and sub-regional cooperational agreements, assistance to less-developed member states, and the establishment of relations with other regional economic organisation. The Secretariat is in Montevideo, and the member states are the same as for the previous treaty, namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Policy is determined by the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of each of the member countries which meets when appropriate, whilst the Committee of Representatives is the permanent executive body. LAIA is essentially an 'umbrella' organisation which oversees and helps to coordinate the various sub-regional organisations of Latin America.

Complementary organisations are the Sistema Econуmico Latino-americano (SELA) which meets at intervals in order to coordinate economic planning and policies and whose membership includes nearly all Latin American countries; and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean which is a centre for economic research and a source of economic and social information. The seat of the Commission is Santiago, Chile.

The Andean Integration System envisages the creation of an Andean Community, and is the successor to the Andean Group (Grupo Andino) which was formed in 1969 as a sub-regional group in order to provide a more cohesive economic unit within the Latin American Free Trade Area - now the Latin American Integration Association. The aim is freedom of movement of goods, services and capital transfers, and the establishment of a Free Trade Area with MERCOSUR. Members are Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia (which established a Free Trade Area in 1993), Peru and Venezuela.

MERCOSUR/MERCOSUL was established in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunciуn for the purposes of establishing, by the year 2006, a Customs Union including the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour, and for promoting regional investment. Member states are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. By 1995, 85 per cent of tariffs had been eliminated, with some exceptions permitted for Paraguay and Uruguay. Free Trade Agreements have been entered into with Chile and Bolivia.

Group of three - G3 is a forum for political discussion on the promotion of economic integration with a view to the creation of a Free Trade Area. Members are Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela, and the Secretariat is in Bogota.